


One-Way Ticket to my Heart

by collisionsphere



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: Alternative Universe - No Curse, Dorks in Love, F/F, Interrupting Wynonna Earp, Mutual Pining, Protective Wynonna Earp, Wynonna Earp & Nicole Haught Friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-03
Updated: 2020-12-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:40:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 44,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22534873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/collisionsphere/pseuds/collisionsphere
Summary: Nicole Haught is the new deputy in Purgatory and has the (mis)fortune of issuing her first ticket in town to none other than Waverly Earp, who's life is already seemingly in the midst of chaos and definitely did not need a ticket to add to her problems. It seems ever since then, however; the universe keeps bringing them together more and more and Waverly slowly starts to think that maybe that ticket was the best damn thing to ever happen to her.
Relationships: Waverly Earp/Nicole Haught
Comments: 95
Kudos: 410





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone! It's been a while since I've written something and these two dorks have inspired me to write again! I hope you all enjoy my fic, since I've never written for them and I'm a little nervous too, but I will do my best! Also, I'm going to be going back to writing for my other fic I have posted on here, so I can't wait to get back into A Shipwrecked Heart as well!

Waverly sighed as she wiped down the bar for the umpteenth time, re-organized the cups and bottles for the umpteenth time, and mopped the floor for the umpteenth time.

She sighed again, for the umpteenth time.

Waverly knew she was being uncharacteristically gloomy, but she felt like it was a much deserved gloom fest.

She was worried, stressed, and tired.

Worried and stressed because Wynonna was back in her life- not that she wasn’t upset to have her big sister back! She was ecstatic. But also worried she was going to leave again and stressed that despite happily living with her Aunt Gus, Wynonna seemed dead set on fixing up the homestead that had been long since abandoned by the family.

Waverly didn’t know if she was ready for the homestead to be, well, a _home_ again.

And to top it all off, she was tired of dealing with Champ again.

She heard her phone vibrate against the bar table, the sound deafening in the now silent bar. She lazily picked it up and upon unlocking it she groaned at the messages on her screen.

_Hey babe can we talk? – Champ_

_Please? – Champ_

_C’mon don’t be like this! – Champ_

Waverly felt a wave of annoyance surge through her body. She quickly brought the phone closer and slapped her fingers on the keyboard, the words themselves barely able to keep up.

_Stop calling me that, we broke up. This time it’s real. – Waverly_

She threw the phone back onto the table, annoyed. Annoyed that despite the unrelenting texts she had received, Waverly Earp _still_ felt the need to apologize.

She started to feel the walls closing in, the bar table a little too close to her body, and so she carried the mop back to its rightful place and gathered her belongings. She felt her phone vibrate again but chose to ignore it, instead opting to give one more look-over of the bar. Giving herself a satisfied nod, she spun on her heels and walked out the door.

The cold air nipped at her skin, giving he ra reminder of how late she had stayed at Shorty’s.

_I hope Gus isn’t awake, otherwise she’ll be worried._ She quickly locked the door behind her and began speed walking to her car. She shivered, wrapping her arms around herself as she cursed herself for forgetting it was Carl’s birthday. She should have known full well it was going to be just like any other of his birthdays: Meeting up with all of his friends, both (mostly) in or out of his biker gang, and the whole lot of them drinking until stupidly drunk and making a racquet.

As such, she didn’t arrive earlier like she usually did to beat all his friends there AND to prep for the busy day. So now she had to brave the longer walk to her car. She shook her heads of anymore thoughts to dwell on and looked up.

Only to stop dead in her tracks.

There, in front of her car was a tall looking figure in a distinctly looking police uniform. She saw a piece of paper getting pulled from a notepad and her night, somehow, _still_ got worse.

“No, no, no,” Waverly couldn’t help but panic. She began running up to her car and the officer. “Oh my gosh, officer, there wouldn’t be any way that-” She stopped, finally seeing the face of the officer.

She was tall, Waverly had gotten that assumption right, however her height wasn’t the only striking thing to Waverly. The street lamp that Waverly had parked in front of shined down on the woman, lighting up some of her features from the dark night, and Waverly felt her heart skip a beat.

She saw strands of long red hair peak out from under her Stetson, and despite the shadows on her face, kind brown eyes still seemed to shine from underneath. The woman looked startled for a brief second, no doubt probably not expecting the owner of the car to come running and yelling out to her.

“Um, I mean,” Waverly tried again, much less frantic, and suddenly at a loss for words. The officer gave her a sympathetic smile and held up the ticket.

“I’m sorry, I already wrote it,” She apologized, and from the tone Waverly thought it was sincere. “No parking past two am, and iiiit’s,” She glanced at the watch that was on her wrist. “Two-fifteen.” Waverly’s eyes widened.

“Oh crap, I didn’t realize,” She muttered to herself, then, remembering the officer was still in front of her, staring. “Sorry,” She added, letting out an awkward laugh. “It’s been a long night.” The officer smiled and laughed lightly as well.

“Hey, I get it,” She grinned, showing off a one-sided dimple. Waverly stared, captivated by the half-smile. “And don’t worry, _this_ ,” She held out the ticket to Waverly, who gingerly took it. “Happens to everyone, even me.”

“Even you?” Waverly scoffed. “Doubt it.”

“Hey now, as an officer of the law, I would never lie to a fine citizen of Purgatory,” Nicole said with a cheeky grin and Waverly giggled at that, well, particularly at the idea that anyone from Purgatory being an exemplary citizen. It was just an old, small, dingy town with simple people living simple lives.

“Well, I’ll get going now,” The officer spoke again. “Just remember to pay that off and you’ll be fine,” She tipped her Stetson at Waverly and began walking back to her cruiser. “Drive safe.” She called out over her shoulder, giving Waverly one last grin.

Waverly simply watched her go, eyes raking over that smile she had on her face, to her strong shoulders, eyes lowering to her lower back, the sway of her hips and-

Her faced immediately flushed and she whipped around, her face beet red. She fumbled with her keys until she finally unlocked her truck, and clambered in. Once inside and the door shut, she started the car, feeling the rumble of the engine as she brought her hands up to her face.

What on earth was she doing? She chastised herself for her eyes exploring the officer without the other woman’s knowledge, at her eyes lowering like that. What was she, some kind of pervert? She shook her head and looked at the ticket in her hand, at the name of the officer.

_Officer Haught._ She laughed at the name. _Seriously?_ Well, Waverly mused, she certainly wasn’t unattractive. Just that thought had her bolt upright and quickly shake her head, as if that was enough to stop her mind from going in all the strange directions it suddenly had been. She peeled out of the parking lot, noting that officer Haught still sat in her cruiser, and once Waverly had passed, she took off in the other direction as well.

* * *

It had been a whole week since she had gotten her parking ticket, and she was currently wiping the bar at Shorty’s like last time. Except now it was much calmer than it had been that other night as it was early in the afternoon.

This time, she was lightly humming to herself, back in her normal mood. She had to admit, knowing she had collected enough tips to pay off the ticket at the station and get the weight of it off her shoulders certainly did help.

“Alright, girlie,” She heard a voice behind her and saw her Aunt Gus behind her. The older woman smiled kindly at her as she moved behind the counter, washcloth in hand. “Shifts over, get out of here.”

“Are you sure you don’t need any more help?” Waverly asked. It was early and if she was being honest, she hadn’t been doing much besides staying in her head for too long, so work was a nice distraction. Gus snapped Waverly’s towel out of her hand in response and Waverly rolled her eyes and huffed as she walked away.

“I know you’d rather be here right now but go and enjoy yourself.” Gus said, shooing her once with her hand.

“I guess.” Waverly muttered.

“You could always visit the homestead, Wynonna’s been working hard trying to fix it up.” Gus said as Waverly sat down on the other side.

“I don’t know if I’m ready to visit it,” Waverly admitted. Though the thought of her older sister running around fixing it up for her did make her smile a little bit. Wynonna had suddenly come back to Purgatory after being gone for a couple of years doing who knows what and was dead set to not only make up for lost time, but also fix up the homestead that had laid abandoned for so long.

_Ever since Daddy passed…_ Waverly felt her mood worsen. Everyone in her family had left, in some way, one by one.

And now Wynonna was back and she was so _happy_ and so _scared_ that she was going to leave again. She felt a hand on hers and looked up to see Gus smiling at her.

“Take all the time you need, Wynonna might grumble about it, but I’m sure she understands.” Gus chuckled.

“You’re probably right,” Waverly replied. Looking at the time, she got up and put on her coat. “I’ll get going, see you Gus.” Gus gave her a silent wave, already tending to a customer who had taken a seat at the bar.

* * *

It was a quick drive to the police station, and she parked her car and immediately got out. She didn’t like to admit it, but the police station was a common place for her to be. Or rather, it was, when Wynonna was in town.

She briefly wondered if Wynonna was going to end up at the station regularly again.

She walked down the corridor and turned to the large service desk, already digging through her purse. She glanced up to make sure she didn’t crash into anyone, and immediately froze again.

_That woman._

Directly behind the service desk stood the same officer that had given her the very ticket she was digging for.

In the bright light and no hat, she was able to see her features more clearly. Her fiery red hair shined in the light, and Waverly could see how long it was, twisted into an intricate braid. She stood tall, currently engrossed in the documents in her hand, and without the police jacket, Waverly could see the uniform cling to her body in all the right places. Her eyes wandered from her collar, to the buttons that covered her chest. Waverly felt her face redden and she diverted her eyes.

…To farther down her body. _Oh crap, what the hell am I doing._

“Oh, Waverly,” A gruff voice spoke behind her, causing her to yelp in surprise. She saw the woman, _Officer Haught_ , look up and right at her. She spun around and saw Sheriff Randy Nedley standing behind her, smiling warmly. “How you doing, kid?”

“Oh, uh,” Waverly stuttered for a second. “I’m doing okay. How’s Chrissy?” At the mention of his daughter, he sighed but the smile never left his face. If anything, it only got larger.

“She’s good,” He spoke with pride. “Always giving me a run for my money, ever since she was little, but you know that,” He chuckled. “She said she was off work today, you should stop by.”

“I’ll definitely try, it’s been a while,” She admitted. She knew ever since her last breakup with Champ she hadn’t gotten out much at all, and she did miss her best friend. “Maybe after I pay this ticket.” Waverly explained.

“Oh, of course!” Nedley said, slightly embarrassed. “I’ll let you go, tell your aunt I said hello,” At Waverly’s nod he began walking away, but halted and looked back at her. “And please, tell Wynonna to not get into trouble.” Waverly laughed at that.

“I’ll try my hardest, but you know her.” At that, Nedley groaned as he walked back to his office. She turned back to the desk, where Officer Haught was now sitting down, looking at some paper, and was most definitely trying to hide a smile. Collecting her nerves, she walked up and the officer looked up at her, eyes twinkling in amusement.

“Hi,” Waverly greeted, fingers nervously tapping on the wood. God, why was she so nervous? No, it was just from embarrassment. It had to be.

“Hi.” The redhead replied, voice light and smiling brightly. “How can I help you, miss… Waverly, right?” Waverly let out a sigh as she thought back to Nedley scaring her, all because she got distracted. By another woman.

“Yeah, that’s me, oh god, I embarrassed myself so much,” She cringed. “I’m sure the whole town heard me.” At that, Officer Haught laughed.

“It’s fine,” She reassured. “I’m sure the people we bring in for public intoxication have done more embarrassing things around here.”

“At least they got the mercy of not remembering it,” Waverly grumbled, and the officer chuckled. “Oh! I’m sorry,” She quickly placed her purse on the desk and dug through it. “Wasting your time…” She spoke under her breath. The redhead simply sat at her seat, head cocked to the side, as she watched Waverly with a lingering half smile. “Here we go.” She pulled out the ticket, as well as her wallet.

“Oh, paying the ticket? No problem.” Officer Haught said, hand already out. As Waverly passed her the ticket, she glanced down at the officer’s name.

“Officer Haught, huh?” Waverly mused, and the other woman smiled sheepishly.

“That’s me.”

“You know, I’ve lived here my whole life and I don’t think I’ve seen you before, it’s a small town you know.” Waverly explained, casually leaning her arms on the counter. She grabbed the cash she needed, knowing in the back of her mind how slow she was being.

But she found that she didn’t mind.

“I actually just moved here,” The redhead admitted. “Actually, your ticket is the first ticket I’ve issued here…” She paused and winced. “Sorry about that.”

“Oh, its okay,” Waverly smiled. “You were just doing your job. It’s nice to meet you, by the way, despite the circumstances,” Waverly reached out her hand. “I’m Waverly Earp.”

“Nicole,” The redhead reached out and shook her hand. “Nicole Haught.” Nicole gave her a dimpled smile and gave her hand a small squeeze. “Nice to meet you.”

* * *

She had a name now.

_Nicole Haught._

The beautiful redhead with a dimpled smile and warm brown eyes that seemed to make her stomach do summersaults. It was odd. Waverly had just met Nicole and it seemed the redhead already had a sort of hold on her.

And yet, Waverly couldn’t find a reason to complain about it. She almost… enjoyed the feelings she had whenever she was around Nicole.

After she had paid the ticket, she realized she had nothing left to do, and while talking to Nicole more was enticing, she knew the officer was at work, and as such didn’t have all day like she had. So she unfortunately tore herself away from the desk and, after saying their goodbyes, walked outside and was currently in her car, debating on what to do.

Normally, she would spend her days with Champ, well, more like Champ would constantly see if she was free. Which would then be of them fooling around in the apartment above Shorty’s, or in one of their cars, or at Champ’s house. It was only now after they broke up that Waverly realized they never really spent time doing anything nice, anything Waverly would have liked.

Like maybe having a simple coffee date, or just relaxing watching documentaries, or Champ even just _listening_ to all the cool new things Waverly liked to research and learn. Anytime she would try, it would always be the same.

_I’ve missed you._

_I’ve been so lonely._

_Babe, you’re too pretty to think about stuff like that._

She shook her head, thinking about Champ wasn’t an enticing option to spend her day, nor would it help her mood. Looking at her phone, thinking back to her run in with Nedley, she scrolled through her contacts until she reached upon a name, her lips turning upward into a smile. She dialed the number, holding it up to her ear, and it didn’t have to ring very many times until the person on the other end picked up, voice as perky as ever.

“Waves!” She heard Chrissy squeal, and she realized then how much she had missed hanging out with her best friend, and that her relationship with Champ seemed to have stopped a lot of things happening in her life. Like what she knew she needed right now, an afternoon catch-up with her best friend.

* * *

It had been another week when she saw Nicole again, when Nicole had walked into Shorty’s a little bit before closing. She turned around at the sound of someone walking up to the bar and beamed at Nicole.

“Nicole, hi,” Waverly greeted, slightly surprised but not disappointed at seeing the redhead. Nicole sighed as she eased herself at the bar, setting down her Stetson.

“Oh,” Nicole looked at her in surprise, which then turned into a smile. “I didn’t know you worked here.”

“Yep,” Waverly smiled. “I was actually here working late when you, you know, gave me that ticket,” She laughed nervously, and Nicole simply looked down, immediately making Waverly mentally slap herself for her words. “I mean, like I said, it’s alright, it was actually my fault for taking too long cleaning up and-” Nicole’s laughter cut her off, and Waverly let out a sigh of relief.

“Well, I’m sure you learned your lesson then,” Nicole teased, giving her a toothy grin. “Anyway, you think I can get a drink? Had a long day myself.”

“Sure!” Waverly said, slightly louder than she intended. “What can I get you?” At that, Nicole paused, and she knotted her brows together, an act Waverly found rather cute. When the other woman realized Waverly was staring, she let out a nervous laugh.

“Actually… I usually don’t go out for a drink like this…” Nicole admitted, rubbing the back of her neck. “Uh, scotch maybe? Or uh, some beer?” She let out a nervous chuckle, her hand moved from her neck to run through her hair while the other began drawing small patterns on the surface of the bar. Waverly placed a hand on Nicole’s that laid on the table, causing the other woman to still.

“Why don’t I start you off small. A beer? Probably our most popular one, how does that sound?” Waverly asked gently. Nicole could only nod, and when Waverly removed her hand from Nicole’s, she let out a breath of air she hadn’t realized she was holding.

She was already feeling her hand become colder again.

After getting Nicole her drink, Waverly had spent much of the rest of her night watching Nicole from the corner of her eye. She casually noted how Nicole’s mood seemed to be low, nothing at all like she had at the station. She did say she had a long day… Was it also a bad day? What did bad days even look like for cops? For Nicole? Waverly was so preoccupied trying to figure out Nicole’s somber mood she nearly missed the person that had walked up to the bar.

Throughout her entire shift, Waverly had to force herself to focus on the other patrons, and she found it surprisingly difficult when Nicole was still sitting at the counter, silently nursing her drink. Shoulders slumped, head low, seemingly lost in her own thoughts.

So in her thoughts that Nicole was still sitting there when Waverly yelled out last call. By then, the only ones that were around were the (mostly) drunk regulars. Most of which stumbled out of the building.

A few did try to come up for the usual ‘just one more drink, we promise’ tactic, but one look at Nicole in her uniform had them immediately turn around with their tails between their legs.

_I should keep her around more often._ Waverly thought to herself. She glanced at the redhead, who sighed and grabbed her Stetson again.

“I should probably go too,” She got up and before Waverly could say anything, Nicole paused and looked around the room. “Actually I guess I should stay a little longer, keep you safe, you know,” Nicole offered with a grin and a wink. Despite the action, she still sounded less jovial than she had the other week, her eyes not quite lighting up like it had before.

And yet, Waverly still felt the flush on her face.

“Are you feeling okay?” Waverly asked, choosing to ignore the effect Nicole seemed to have on her, and focus on attempting to offer a comforting hand to her. “You just seemed down, that’s all.” She began wiping down the counter, eyes on Nicole the whole time.

“Kinda,” Nicole said, running a finger along the cup Waverly had yet to take back. “I mean,” She paused and glanced up at Waverly for a split second before looking back down. “I’ve been just on ticket duty for a while now, and… that’s not what I became a cop to do. I should be out in the field, helping! I know I can do it, I’m better than some tickets.” She grumbled the last bit under her breath, and Waverly found that act adorable, though realizing the Nicole was having a moment, she made sure to keep that thought to herself. Nicole let out a frustrated groan and took a swig of her drink, only to grimace and sputter it out. She quickly wiped her mouth with her sleeve, glancing at Waverly, who this time had an obvious amused smile at the scene.

“Sorry…” Nicole mumbled embarrassedly; voice muffled by her arm. _Cute._ Waverly giggled and grabbed the glass.

“Warm beer sucks, it’s okay,” She began washing the cup, her body slightly facing Nicole. “And I’m sure you won’t be doing just tickets for very long, in fact, I’ve heard Nedley say nothing but good things about you.”

“Really?” Nicole asked, eyebrow raised in slight disbelief.

“Yep, I’m actually best friends with his daughter, Chrissy, and he mentioned you last time I was over,” She walked over to Nicole, leaning her arms against the counter. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about, Nicole.”

Nicole gave her a cheeky smile and Waverly felt the flutters in her stomach again. They stood there, the only two in the bar, oblivious to the rest of the world. Waverly’s eyes glanced down at Nicole’s lips, and when the realization of her gaze hit her, she quickly turned around. Before she could fully walk away, she felt Nicole’s hand graze her wrist. It was hesitant, as if she was afraid to hold on too strong, but it still made Waverly pause and her breath hitch.

“Thank you.” Waverly peeked over her shoulder and saw Nicole smiling at her so _warmly_. Waverly could only nod, face flush and most definitely not able to trust her voice. Nicole drew her hand back and Waverly went back to cleaning up, the two falling into a comfortable silence for the rest of the night until they parted ways.

* * *

Nicole stood in front of Shorty’s, just having gotten off her shift, and thus, still in her uniform. She stood in the center of the sidewalk, looking up at the building with apprehension. She had her Stetson in her hand, wringling with her fingers. She took a deep breath and began walking to the front door. Then quickly stopped and spun around, beginning her walk back to where she had started.

_This is so stupid._ Nicole chastised herself. It had been _just_ yesterday that Nicole had stayed, and Nicole was glad she had. She had come in feeling down and listening to Waverly’s words, feeling her hand on hers, she had never felt so reassured before. Sure, Waverly didn’t say _much_ , but just from looking at her beautiful face, or listening to her angelic voice, that alone made Nicole feel comforted.

And warm.

She turned around again, looking at Shorty’s.

Would Waverly even be working tonight as well? Would it come off as creepy if she visited twice in a row?

Did Waverly even _want_ to see her again.

_Jesus Christ, Haught, do **something**. _Nicole shook her head and placed her hat on her head and began walking up to the doors again.

Worst case scenario, Waverly wasn’t at work and Nicole would just sip a few beers before going home.

Best case scenario, Waverly _was_ at work and Nicole would try her best to not make a fool out of herself in front of the woman.

With new resolve, she walked into the bar and made her way to bar table. It didn’t take her long to find the other woman behind the bar, serving drinks, smiling brightly at her all the patrons. Nicole could feel the smiling growing on her face the closer she got, and by the time she got to the bar, she leaned against the table, watching Waverly work.

Waverly turned around and their eyes met, and Waverly gave Nicole a bright smile that nearly took the redhead’s breath away.

“Nicole, you’re back.” Waverly greeted as she easily made her way to the side Nicole had placed herself at.

“What can I say,” Nicole chuckled. “I just couldn’t keep away.” She gave Waverly a dimpled grin and the other looked down for a second, her brown locks covering her face for a second, and Nicole could have _sworn_ she saw the other woman blush.

“Well,” Waverly popped her head back up, a cheery smile on her face. “Lucky me then.” Nicole laughed and ordered a drink, watching as Waverly spun on her heels and moved behind the bar with expertise. Once Nicole received her alcohol, she stayed at the bar, taking sips as she stared down at the cup.

Truth be told, she was feeling rather down again, still not being as much out in the field as she had wanted. It was part of why she wanted to go to Shorty’s again, she had felt much better after she had left. After she had spoken with Waverly. Nicole sighed and took another swig of her drink, simply enjoying the moment.

Nicole couldn’t explain it, but the shorter woman had a pull on her that no other person had. Maybe it was her angelic smile, or her sweet voice, or her bubbly personality, but something about Waverly felt so… _right_ to Nicole.

She had to admit she was starting to doubt her decision to come to the small town of Purgatory, but just as she thought about packing her things and trying again somewhere else, Waverly popped up in her mind and all her will evaporated.

“Nicole?” Nicole blinked, realizing she was day dreaming and Waverly was looking at her with those worried eyes. “Are you okay?” She placed a hand on Nicole’s, a movement that seemed to start to become a habit between the two.

“Huh? Sorry, got sort of lost in thought, I guess.” Nicole smiled sheepishly. Waverly giggled and went back to cleaning up. Nicole looked around, recalling the patrons that seemed to be regulars and all knew each other by a first name basis. Clearly, it was a sort of tight-knit town.

“Waverly?” Nicole rang out, and Waverly simply hummed in response, busy at work but clearly still listening. “Do you like it here?” The question made Waverly pause.

“Do I… like Purgatory?” Waverly looked at Nicole, who nodded. “Oh, gosh, I guess? I mean,” She began mopping the floor, having called last call while Nicole was lost in thought. All the patrons had left by now, but Nicole made no rush to leave, nor did Waverly seem bothered by her presence at the bar after hours. “No one’s really ever asked me that. I mean, no one really chooses a place like this, people just… stay,”

Nicole nodded in response, thinking on Waverly’s words. They weren’t very uplifting. Waverly glanced over at Nicole as she began mopping outside the bar table, seeing the taller woman lost in thought, a slightly frown on her face.

“But this isn’t a bad place!” Waverly continued, not wanting to paint a bad picture of her hometown to a newcomer.

She didn’t want to drive Nicole away.

“The people of this town are super nice! And I have my Aunt Gus, and Wynonna’s even back and fixing up the homestead! Though I haven’t seen it, but I will… _eventually_ , but this is my home and I do-” She hadn’t realized her pace had slightly quickened as she word-vomited all over the place. She took a step back on an already mopped part of the floor and yelped as she felt her foot slip and her body fall backwards.

Luckily she had been mopping relatively close to Nicole, who shot out of her seat. She was at Waverly’s side in a flash, wrapping an arm around her mid-section and the other was pressed against Waverly’s shoulders.

“Love… this place…” Waverly mumbled as she felt her momentum stop suddenly and she was enveloped in strong, yet soft arms. Nicole’s face suddenly looking down on her, expression painted into one of worry. Waverly had reached out without realizing and had grabbed a fistful of Nicole’s uniform in an attempt to keep her balance, and now the two stood in the middle of the room, both unable to look away from each other.

“A-are you okay?” Nicole asked softly, voice laced with concern. Her eyes looked down at her with worry but Waverly thought she saw something else in her eyes she couldn’t quite place. Nicole moved her eyes from Waverly’s own hazel ones to her lips, and she had subconsciously bit her lip.

“Yeah…” Waverly spoke, and Nicole pulled her eyes away from Waverly’s lips, looking away in embarrassment. Waverly mused the two looked like quite the scene, in the middle of the room, holding each other as they stared at one another in some sort of trance. Nicole, in her police uniform still, holding up Waverly whose hand was grabbing Nicole’s button up, no doubt wrinkling it from her death grip. The other was limply holding the mop that had led them to their current situation.

Waverly felt her body heat up, suddenly very aware of Nicole’s arms, of Nicole’s _everything_ really. She wanted to stand up, thank her, and finish cleaning, but it seemed she was frozen in place. Her mind was blank and it didn’t seem it was going to clear up anytime soon.

_God, why does she smell so freaken good?_ In the midst of her thoughts she hadn’t realized her grip on the mop was rapidly loosening until a loud bang erupted throughout the room, causing the two to nearly jump out of their skin.

Nicole eased her back up fully to her feet and let go, taking a good step back and awkwardly clearing her throat. Waverly cursed herself as she bent down to pick up the mop, not quite sure if she was madder that the moment was ruined or that she even allowed herself to become so… _engrossed_ in the taller woman. She glanced at Nicole; whose color of her face now matched her hair.

“I, uh,” Waverly stuttered. “Thank you. F-for catching me.”

“Yeah, yep, no problem Waverly,” Nicole said hastily, hands shoved into her pant pockets now. She was refusing to meet Waverly’s eyes, instead looking as though she was ready for the floor to swallow her up whole. Waverly mused that maybe the floor could swallow her up too. She quickly put the mop away and called it quits, both walking out of Shorty’s together.

Despite the cold air feeling refreshing against her suddenly hot skin, it didn’t seem to help much.

She looked at Nicole out of the corner of her eye, watching the woman zip up her coat in response to the frigid weather. Nicole glanced at her, causing Waverly to look at her shoes, tucking her chin into her scarf.

“Thank you for staying late with me again, and again, for saving me from falling on my butt.” Waverly said softly and Nicole chuckled.

“Of course, I just want to make sure you’re getting home safe at night,” Waverly nodded and they silently walked to Waverly’s car. “Well, goodnight, Waverly.” Waverly was now turned to look at Nicole, hand on the car handle, though she was in no hurry to get inside it.

“Goodnight, Nicole,” Waverly replied shyly. Nicole nodded and turned around, walking back to her cruiser. Waverly stood at her car, simply watching Nicole’s retreating form.

Just as Nicole was about to reach her own car, she saw the taller woman look back behind her, at Waverly. Nicole gave her a shy smile and Waverly returned it, offering the tiniest of awkward waves with her hand, and quickly got into her car. As soon as she got inside and began the drive home, she placed her hand on her chest.

She felt her heart thumping in her chest, and she had no explanation as to why. Well, she _did_. However, she wasn’t sure how she felt about that explanation.

That Officer Nicole Haught made her feel unlike how any other person in her life had made her feel. She had been on and off with Champ for years and he _never_ made her feel the way Nicole did. A single smile never sent her heart fluttering, nor did she ever get lost in his eyes like she got lost in Nicole’s. Those dimples. Those almost irritatingly charming dimples that lit up her face and turned Waverly’s insides to jelly.

And Waverly couldn’t get enough.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole Haught is the new deputy in Purgatory and has the (mis)fortune of issuing her first ticket in the town to none other than Waverly Earp. It seems ever since then; the universe brings them together more and more and Waverly slowly starts to think that maybe that ticket was the best damn thing to happen to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit shorter than the last, I had a bit more written but decided to last minute put the last half into the next chapter instead of this, so I do apologize about that. Though we DO get some Wynonna in this chapter, and I hope you all still enjoy it.
> 
> P.S: I hope I got the name of the strip club right, I THINK I did, but if I didn't, I'm really, really sorry.
> 
> Also, apparently it's Wayhaught week!? I might just post some one-shot ideas I've had rolling around in my head, even if they aren't prompt based, so if I do I hope you guys enjoy that too. Anyway, happy reading and have a wonderful day :)

Nicole sat at her desk going over documents at the station, the previous night with Waverly replaying in her head over and over. More particularly, when the brunette had slipped, and Nicole had immediately lept to action, feeling Waverly’s weight and warmth in her arms.

Nicole could already feel the blush creeping up her neck and a smile force itself on her face. Luckily, she didn’t have much time to think back on the intimate moment, as Nedley had come out of his office, going straight to Nicole.

“Alright Haught,” Nedley spoke, making Nicole sit upright. “You’re with me, lets go, kid.” He wasted no time in turning around and begin walking out. Nicole stared for a second, a split second, before standing up and scrambling for her jacket and things.

“Yes, sir!” Nicole yelled back, eager to do _anything_ other than ticket duty.

* * *

“So,” Nedley spoke as he drove his cruiser, Nicole in the passenger seat. They had gotten a call about a disturbance at a local strip club, Pussy Willows, and Nicole wasn’t sure what to expect from a small town strip club. “Not that I’m trying to be nosy, but I heard you been popping by Shorty’s a bit.” Nicole paled a bit.

“How did you-”

“Small town,” Nedley said. “Gossip travels.”

“Great.” Nicole replied sarcastically and Nedley chuckled.

“It seems you’re starting to settle in, that’s good. Purgatory’s not a bad place, you know.” Nicole wasn’t sure if she was really _settled_. She honestly had only been around her home, the precinct, and Shorty’s.

And Waverly.

She had started to visit Waverly, who was so sweet and kind and Nicole would be outright lying if she said she wasn’t the most beautiful person she had ever seen.

“There’s good people here,” Nedley continued, unaware of Nicole’s inner turmoil. He pulled up to a parking lot and Nicole assumed they reached their destination. He pulled up to the front doors, sirens on but silent. Just as he put the car in park, he looked at Nicole, a warm smile on his face. “And I have a feeling you’ll be a good cop for them, Nicole.”

And just like that, he was opening his door and getting out. Nicole, for the most part, was floored. As Nedley spoke, he had looked right into her eyes, conveying nothing but sincerity.

All she had done so far was tickets and desk work, she didn’t believe she had done anything exceptional enough to warrant such a moment from the Sheriff. If anything, she figured she was just another deputy in his precinct, nothing special about her at all. She shook her head of her thoughts and looked through her window to see Nedley stop and talk to a man who was waiting outside, and Nicole wasted no more time in her car, trying to reason with Nedley’s apparent fondness of her.

“Thanks again, Sheriff,” She heard the man say just as she walked up to the two. “Just get the two of them out and home, don’t need them bothering any of my other customers.”

“Don’t worry, we got this covered.” Nedley gave who Nicole assumed was the owner a nod and she followed Nedley inside the building.

The first thing she noticed was the bright pinkish tint the lights produced over the whole room, the second was the loud music, and the third was the women dancing, accepting the dollar bills being placed into their thin lingerie string.

Nicole watched as a woman was crawling on the stage toward a drunken man who was waving down a dollar bill in his hand. She jutted out her hip, pulling back the string of her thong just enough for him to safely slide it into place. The woman’s eyes glanced up at Nicole, a playful smirk on her face, their eyes meeting for a moment. She let go of her thong, which Nicole was sure would have made an audible slap on her skin if it weren’t for the music and slapped the very hip the dollar bill was placed on.

Nicole couldn’t help but blush a little bit and jerked her head forward again. As they weaved through the crowd, they eventually made their way to the bar, where a woman in a leather jacket was slumped over on the counter bar. The bartender looked up from washing cups and smirked at the sight of them. Walking over the woman, he leaned down and whispered something in her ear, causing her to drunkenly look up at them.

“Jonah,” Nedley greeted and the bartender, ‘Jonah’, simply nodded and gave Nedley a salute before turning back to his work. The woman rolled her eyes and dropped her head again. “Wynonna,” Nedley sighed and looked around. “Wait, where’s Champ?” At that, Wynonna bolted upright.

“Where is that excuse of air?” She slurred, beginning to stand up, only to begin stumbling backwards. Nicole was quick to close the gap and steady the other woman. “Whoa… thanks big red,” Wynonna began laughing, most likely at her own joke. “Nedley,” She yelled out, pointing to Nicole’s general direction, still very much needing her support to not fall over. “When’d you get Clifford on the force.” Nicole raised an eyebrow at her and Nedley sighed.

“Wynonna show some respect, that’s my new deputy, Officer Haught.” At that, Wynonna began laughing.

“Officer Hot? Seriously?”

“It’s not spelled how you’re probably thinking it is.” Nicole spoke up, which caused Wynonna to simply wave off her comment.

“Jonah, where’s Champ? You didn’t let him walk out, did you?” Nedley asked.

“He said he was gonna piss his pants,” Wynonna snickered at that. “He’d run off all my customers, so I let him go to the bathroom.” Jonah shrugged, clearly not at all bothered by the turn of events.

“Damn it,” Nedley grumbled and looked at Nicole. “Alright Haught, take Wynonna to the cruiser and wait for me, I’ll try to find Hardy.” Nicole nodded and began pulling a stumbling Wynonna with her, who seemed very reluctant to leave, consistently trying to go back to her drink at the bar.

“Jesus, _gentle_ Hot Red,” Nicole simply sighed, trying to be as gentle as possible when the other woman clearly couldn’t make two steps on her own without falling flat on her face. With some effort, she had successfully gotten Wynonna to the back of the cruiser and made her way back to the passenger seat. She heard groaning behind her and adjusted the rearview mirror, watching Wynonna leaning her head back with her eyes closed. It looked as thought she had fallen asleep and Nicole moved her gaze to the view in front of her.

“So you’re new, huh,” Wynonna’s drunken voice suddenly made Nicole jump slightly and she looked at the rearview mirror, at Wynonna who had her head resting back and eyes closed.

“Uh, yeah. It’s nice to meet you.” Wynonna scoffed.

“Yeah, same, whatever,” She slurred. “Why this dump of a town?” Before Nicole could answer, the back door opened, flooding the car with lights, making Wynonna groan. Nicole watched as another man ungracefully sat down next to Wynonna and Nedley got back into the driver’s seat.

“Alright,” He began as he started the car. “Both of you are going to stay overnight to get the alcohol out of your systems.”

“Ugh, this is all your fault, Wynonna,” The man, Nicole could only assume was Champ, whined. “Why couldn’t you leave me alone?”

“Oh, like you’re leaving Waverly alone?” Wynonna shot back.

 _Wait, Waverly?_ Nicole turned her head, slightly invested in their drunken conversation. They couldn’t mean the same Waverly, could they?

“That’s none of your business!” Champ yelled.

“Like hell it isn’t!” Wynonna snapped and looked directly at Champ, who seemed to deflate a little under her gaze.

“Enough!” Nedley yelled out from the front and Wynonna scoffed and leaned her head back, crossing her arms to indicate she was done with the conversation. Champ mimicked her action, though unlike Wynonna, he squirmed in his seat and the action made him look smaller.

Nicole looked ahead with her brow furrowed, wondering what Waverly’s relation to these two people were. She thought back to all the conversations they had, trying to think of any mention of the names that belonged to the two in the back. Then she remembered that night at Shorty’s, when Waverly slipped. Her face flushed at the memory of Waverly’s soft body in her arms, again.

 _No, you idiot, before that._ Nicole chastised herself, forcing herself to not have thoughts of Waverly knock her off her equilibrium in the middle of work. She recalled Waverly mentioned someone named Wynonna, and she turned her head slightly, giving as subtle of a glance as she could muster.

 _Her sister?_ Nicole couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought. This was her first time meeting Wynonna and she could tell that they were so different it was comical.

While Waverly seemed soft and sweet, Wynonna seemed rough and all bark and bite. Especially now as she sat in the back of the cruiser, leather jacket and worn boots, messy beautiful hair, arms crossed and a slight scowl on her face, Nicole had to admit that if she weren’t a cop, she would have been intimidated by the other woman.

When they reached the station Nicole brought Wynonna to the back, with Nedley pulling Champ in the back as well. The two immediately sat on opposite sides of the bench.

“Play nice.” Nicole couldn’t help but let the little jest out when she saw the scene in front of her, Nedley already locking the bars.

“Hah,” Wynonna let out a single laugh. She had moved to lay on her back, arm covering her eyes. She used the other to point at where she thought Nicole was, off by a couple of inches at least. “Good one, ginger spice.” Nicole couldn’t tell if the brunette was being sarcastic.

They made their way back to their desks, Nedley stating he was going to do the necessary paperwork for them, and Nicole didn’t get a chance to sit at her desk very long before they received another phone call at the station.

“That’s all yours, Haught,” Nedley said upon finishing the phone call. At Nicole’s shocked look he continued. “I know you’ll do fine.”

“Thank you, sir.” She said and quickly made her way out. Nedley smiled at her retreating form, chuckling softly to himself as he worked through the papers sprawled around his desk.

The call had been a person calling about their neighbor, who had a party and it seemed the few people that had stayed had also decided to four in the morning was also a great time for an impromptu band session.

Luckily someone who had stayed downstairs to continue solo drinking heard the door and opened it for Nicole, who had to admit the way their eyes had bulged out of their eyes was an amusing sight. It was a fairly easy situation, and after threatening to ticket them disturbing the peace, they hastily promised to postpone their jam session. So, Nicole simply let them off with a warning, stating if they got a similar call she would be back with a ticket, and began making her way back to the station.

It was already daytime by the time she got to the station and was ready to finish her paperwork and go home and sleep. After some time, she was _finally_ done. She leaned back, clasped her hands together and stretched her arms backwards.

She let out a half groan, half moan, attempting to get the kinks out of her body. She was tired from her overnight shift, but she was so, _so_ happy she had finally gotten out on the field.

 _Waverly was right._ She relaxed her body, immediately rubbing her hands over her face. She brought her hands down onto the desk with an audible thump and blinked the sleep form her eyes. She glanced at the papers on her desk and with a newfound spring in her step, she stood up and picked them up, using the hard surface as she tapped them into a neat pile.

She looked up ahead and paused, nearly letting all the documents slip from her grip. In front of the service desk stood Waverly, looking bright and chirpy and most definitely not like she was in need of sleep like Nicole was.

She wasn’t sure how long she had been standing there, was it seconds, minutes? How had Nicole not noticed her until now? Nicole blinked, unsure of how long in her sleep deprived mind she had been gawking at Waverly. The shorter woman glanced away awkwardly for a second before quietly clearing her throat and giving Nicole a small wave.

“Hiiii…” Waverly spoke and that was enough to snap Nicole out of her daze.

“Oh, Waverly, what can I-” Nicole started but was cut off when Nedley came out of his office.

“Waverly? I was actually just about to call Gus,” He spoke as he crossed the room. A look of concern suddenly crossed his face. “Is everything okay?”

“Oh, uh,” Waverly’s eyes flickered to Nicole briefly before looking back to Nedley again. “Yeah, I was just- wait you were going to call Gus?” Her eyes widened and she shot her hand out, placing it on Nedley’s forearm. “What happened? Is this about Wynonna?” Is she okay? What did she do?” Waverly was speaking in rapid fire now, panic clearly on her face and Nicole had to fight the temptation to reach out and comfort her. Nedley scratched his beard and sighed.

“She’s fine. Me and Officer Haught had to go down to Pussy Willows,” Waverly looked at Nicole again, and Nicole found herself walking up to the service desk as well, suddenly feeling as though she probably _should_ be part of the conversation now at the mention of her name. “Turns out her and Champ were drunk and had an argument. They’re fine and we brought them back here to sober up. I was going to call Gus, but I guess since you’re here…” Nedley scratched his beard again and Nicole wondered if it was a sort of nervous tick.

“Yes! Of course, I’m so sorry about Wynonna. I’ll just… sign her out since I’m here.” Nedley nodded and proceeded to grab the proper paperwork, which Waverly was quick to fill out, and handed it back to the Sheriff. Nedley made his way to the holding cell while Waverly stood waiting.

Nicole, for the most part, had awkwardly stood to the side, watching as Waverly let out a heavy sigh, shoulders slumping, and gaze lowered onto the service desk. There seemed to be a tense silence around them, thought Nicole knew it wasn’t directed at her.

At least… she hoped not. Nicole wasn’t sure what the look Waverly gave her meant, or if she was purposely avoiding speaking with her now. Nicole slowly walked out from behind the service desk, standing to the side of Waverly, just enough space in case Waverly _was_ mad at her for some reason.

“Are you…”

“I just wanted to-” They both spoke at the same time and froze, both staring at each other. Waverly laughed and stood up a little straighter.

“Thank you for picking up my sister, I hope she wasn’t too much trouble.” Waverly was smiling warmly, and Nicole felt her previous worries seep away.

“Oh, no,” Nicole waved her concerns away. “She was completely cooperative,” That seemed to make Waverly relax, the last bit of tension seemed to visibly release. “She _is_ an… interesting person thought.”

“Oh no…” Waverly laughed. “I can’t even imagine all the things that could have left her mouth.” Nicole laughed as well, remembering all the nicknames Wynonna had given her.

“Well, it made an interesting car ride.” Nicole grinned and Waverly shook her head in amusement. She paused and looked at Nicole for a few seconds, as if searching for something. Nicole almost wanted to squirm under Waverly’s intense gaze, but she refused.

Instead she swallowed hard, watching Waverly’s eyes bore into hers before Waverly turned to face the service desk. Nicole let out an exhale she hadn’t known she was holding. It was only then that Nicole noticed Waverly had a coffee cup in her hand, one which the brunette was currently gazing at.

“You know,” Waverly said softly, looking over her shoulder, smiling softly at Nicole. Softer than Nicole had ever seen. “What are the chances you gave me your first ticket _and_ you end up bringing in my sister of all people.” She didn’t speak with malice; her voice was light and Nicole heard her voice crack a little bit. Whether it was out of sadness or something else, Nicole wasn’t sure.

The redhead couldn’t see Waverly’s face fully, between her should and hair, all Nicole could see was a peak of a smile and her cheeks turning to a reddish tint. Nicole felt her hand twitch, almost going against her brain, as if _itching_ to reach out. She felt a lump in her throat and she wasn’t sure _what_ was happening but whatever it was, Nicole didn’t want to ruin it.

She opened her mouth, only to close it again, and proceed to attempt to say something again. She was vaguely aware that she looked like a fish out of water, but she never got a chance to say anything, as suddenly a voice cut through between them.

“Oh, babygirl,” They both turned to see Wynonna stomping up to them, hands in the pockets of her jacket, Nedley trailing behind her. He gave Waverly an apologetic smile before silently sneaking past them and back to his office.

“Wynonna,” Waverly wined, turning around to face her older sister, arms crossed, very much trying to look intimidating. Nicole had to hold back her chuckle at the _attempt_ , and clearly, Wynonna hadn’t found it intimidating either. “How did you get locked up overnight? Again?” Wynonna merely waved off Waverly’s questions, causing the younger Earp to roll her eyes.

“You wouldn’t believe the night I-” Wynonna stopped suddenly and looked at Nicole, who only then realized she was still lingering. “Can I help you?” Wynonna had a clear scowl on her face, eyeing Nicole up and down.

A surge of irritation at the look Wynonna was giving washed over Nicole, and a part of her wanted to walk up to Wynonna puff her chest out at her. She knew it was ridiculous and immature but _something_ about the way the older Earp looked at her got under her skin. However, she knew Wynonna was _sort_ of right, whatever moment Nicole was having with Waverly was over, and Nicole _clearly_ had no part in the current conversation.

“Hey,” Waverly snapped at Wynonna before the redhead could say anything. Waverly slapped Wynonna’s arm for emphasis, making her curse in surprise.

“Ow, the hell?” She mumbled, but Waverly ignored her.

“Don’t talk to her like that!” Nicole felt a tug at her heart at hearing Waverly defend her, and Wynonna had simply raised an eyebrow at her younger sister.

“I should, uh, drop these off anyway.” Nicole said, holding up her papers, trying to ignore the glare Wynonna was sending her way. She gave Waverly a small smile and began to turn around, but Waverly’s voice stopped her.

“Nicole wait,” The redhead turned back around, and Waverly nervously bit her lip. She looked up at Nicole and held out the cup of coffee, though it took Nicole some effort to tear her eyes away from Waverly’s lips to the drink. “For you. As a thank you. For the other night.” Waverly blushed at the memory and the fact that she suddenly couldn’t form a proper sentence.

“Oh,” Nicole blinked, taking the cup. Their fingers grazed each other’s, and Nicole would be lying if she said she hadn’t let hers linger on Waverly’s as long as possible. “Thank you.” Nicole flashed her a large smile and brought the cup to her lips, taking a sip. “Is this… vanilla?”

“Yeah, I didn’t know what you liked so I just… got you something that reminded me of you. Vanilla.” Waverly’s face felt on fire now, and she couldn’t look into Nicole’s eyes directly, knowing she’d turn even more beet red if she did.

She had gone up to the nearest coffee shop, and once she was at the register, she realized she had no idea what the redhead liked, and she panicked. She thought of all the times they were together and realized that the redhead had a particular smell to her, a good smell. A very Vanilla scented smell. And she blurted it out to the cashier.

Well, she more like yelled it out by accident, probably giving off the impression that she was a crazy person, if the wide-eyed look the cashier clerk gave her was any indication to go by.

And now here she was, sort of admitting it to Nicole, and she couldn’t help but think she sounded just as absurd as she did at the coffee shop.

“Thank you, Waverly,” She heard Nicole say and Waverly finally looked up to see Nicole giving her that kind smile she seemed to always have, putting her dimples on full display. “I should go, I’ll see you later,” Nicole glanced at Wynonna and gave her an uncomfortable nod. “Uh, Wynonna, it was… good to meet you.” Wynonna simply grunted in response and Nicole awkwardly turned around and continued her way to finish her last errand of the day, sipping her coffee the entire time, savoring the sweetness the vanilla offered.

Sweetness that could only be matched by the person that was Waverly Earp.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry for the long wait, life's been hectic. But here's the next chapter, hope you all like it, it's gonna have some Earp sister feels.
> 
> I also plan on writing another supernatural themed WayHaught story, so I can't wait to share that, but anyway hope you all enjoy and everyone stay safe out there with all the crazy that's been happening in the world.

Wynonna was _sure_ she woke up in some sort of alternate universe, or maybe she had hit her head when she was drunk. Or she was just oblivious. Which was a possibility.

All she knew was that she woke up in a cell, (which wasn’t unusual) was collected by Nedley, and walked up to Waverly and some ginger cop she had never seen before flirting like there was no tomorrow.

Or at least Waverly being friendly with the other woman.

 _Too_ friendly in Wynonna’s opinion.

After Nicole had left, she watched as Waverly’s stare lingered, a warm shy smile on her face. Then she turned to Wynonna, soft smile replaced by annoyance and hands on her hips. Wynonna scoffed.

“Hey, baby girl,” Wynonna greeted casually. “You hungry? I’m _Starving_.” With that, she began walking out of the building, already waving off whatever her younger sister was saying.

They had more important things to worry about then Wynonna’s drunken hijinks. Like Waverly’s new friend.

* * *

In the end they had gone to a breakfast diner, and after they seated themselves and ordered Waverly watched as Wynonna patted the pockets of her jacket, each one more frantic than the last, and groaned.

“Fucking Nedley took away my flash,” She pulled off her jacket and threw it on the chair next to her in frustration. “Or maybe ginger cop did.” Wynonna said with a knowing grin and wriggled her eyebrows.

“First of all,” Waverly began with a roll of her eyes. “We’re at a family diner, Wynonna,” Wynonna rolled her eyes at that. “Second of all, her name’s Nicole.”

“Nicole,” Wynonna repeated, and paused as she vaguely recalled the previous night. “Wait, isn’t her last name Hotty or something?”

“Haught. Her last name’s Haught.”

“Ha, priceless,” Wynonna laughed. Just then their food arrived and as soon as the waitress left Wynonna wasted no time. “You two seem close.” She continued between bites. She watched as Waverly blushed and shrugged.

“She’s new and she comes to Shorty’s every once in a while.” Waverly simply said, looking down at her food, stuffing her mouth to save herself from anymore elaboration. Wynonna hummed and pointed a fork at Waverly’s direction.

“And what did Haught-to-Trot do to earn a mocha, huh?” Wynonna asked. “Which, by the way, I’m offended you didn’t get _me_ anything.”

“I didn’t even know you were there!” Waverly gasped. “And I’m buying you breakfast, so shut up.” She added playfully.

“Uh-huh, so, what’d she do?” Wynonna asked again.

“O-oh, uh,” Waverly stuttered. “Nothing important,” She shrugged and Wynonna raised an eyebrow at her. “It’s nothing, anyway, where should I drop you off?” Wynonna stared for a few moments longer, wanting to press on more. She could practically _see_ Waverly begin unraveling whatever she was trying to keep from her, but in a moment of kindness, Wynonna simply shrugged.

It wasn’t like she couldn’t get dirt on Ginger Cop on her own. Plus, Wynonna mused at least Waverly wasn’t buying Champ coffee, or what would have been a beer at the bar if it was Champ.

“The Homestead.” Wynonna easily replied, shoving the last of her food in her mouth. Waverly felt her heart drop a little bit at the mention of her old home and she began messing with the sleeve of her sweater, looking down at the table.

“Sure, I’ll drop you off and then head back home.” Waverly replied softly. She heard Wynonna push her plate a little bit, followed by silence. It only made Waverly more nervous, and she didn’t want to see whatever look Wynonna was giving her.

“I want you to _see_ the place, Waves,” Wynonna said sharply, making Waverly wince slightly. “Just stay for a little bit,” Wynonna paused again. “Please.” The unusual softness made Waverly look up and saw Wynonna with her arms crossed, however her eyes were looking at her, pleading with a softness Wynonna usually only had for Waverly.

“Fine,” Waverly said in a heartbeat, regretting the words as soon as they left her mouth. However, the bright grin on Wynonna’s face made her feel better about her decision.

“Great,” The older Earp slammed her hand on the table, using it to propel herself up and grabbed her jacket. “Let’s get going, then.” And with that, she was gone, leaving Waverly at the table. She let out a defeated sigh and slowly got up and collected her things, trying to delay the inevitable as much as possible.

The least Wynonna could do was wait for her; Waverly _was_ the one with the keys.

* * *

The closer they had gotten to the homestead the more dread filled Waverly’s body, the more tense she felt, and the heavier her limbs felt. She gripped the steering wheel, trying to listen to Wynonna explaining the changes she had made to the home.

Waverly couldn’t keep anything of what Wynonna was saying in her head, her mind going back to when she was little and there was some sort of life and normalcy in the homestead.

Before everything went to _shit_.

Before everyone left in some way or another and Waverly was alone.

Soon the already uneven road became worse, potholes were becoming more common, and Waverly knew that was the first sign that they were coming up to the homestead. The second was how much of _nothing_ was around them, the last farmhouse being at least five miles back now. Out of the corner of her eye, Waverly caught a glimpse of the pond she had fallen through when she was little, when her sister Willa had thrown her favorite stuffed animal on it.

Willa.

Just the thought made Waverly want to throw up.

“Home sweet home, baby girl.” Wynonna whispered, snapping Waverly out of her thoughts. Sure enough, Waverly saw the rusted mailbox with their family name written on it. She scoffed.

“All these repairs and you couldn’t get a new mailbox?” Wynonna simply hummed in response.

“Nah, gives it character.” Wynonna said with a shrug. Waverly drove up the familiar dirt road and came to a stop in front of the house. She parked the car and simply looked up at the home, almost in awe.

She had forgotten how _big_ it was. Looking up at it, it was almost as if she had transported in time, and she felt so tiny. So tiny and small in the face of the huge family home, in the _giant_ mess of history that came with it and her family.

She could turn around right now. Just kick Wynonna out of the car and hightail it out of here. But she knew she really couldn’t. And she wouldn’t.

She already promised Wynonna, and she knew just how hard Wynonna had been working on the homestead. She needed to support her, and she couldn’t postpone it anymore.

She had seen the look on Wynonna’s face the times she had declined her older sister’s invitation. The look of hurt. It would only flash for a second before Wynonna would shrug it off with some sort of quip, acting as if it didn’t matter to her.

But Waverly knew it did.

 _I’m such a horrible sister._ Waverly was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice Wynonna had gotten out of the car until she heard loud banging. She jumped and looked up to see Wynonna give the hood of her truck one last bang.

“Let’s go, slowpoke.” She grinned and Waverly let out a sigh and quickly got out of her car. She walked up to Wynonna, who slung an arm over her shoulders, lightly jostling her a little bit. Waverly’s arms instinctively wrapped around Wynonna, seeking comfort.

They stood there like that, holding each other, staring at what used to be their home. And maybe what could be a new home with new memories, at least one of them hoped so for the moment. Waverly didn’t know how long they stood outside, all she knew was that whatever warmth had been there was gone, and Waverly felt herself shivering.

“C’mon, baby girl.” Wynonna said softly, pulling apart from Waverly and begin walking to the door. Waverly wrapped her arms around herself and meekly followed behind her, hearing the familiar creaks of the porch stairs. Wynonna opened the door and held it open for her, allowing Waverly to walk ahead of her.

As soon as Waverly entered the living room, she blinked and took in her surroundings.

It definitely still needed maintenance, Waverly noted the broken banister of the stairwell, the peeling paint of the walls, the floors that definitely needed a nice re-buffing, the clipped doorframe, and the one lightbulb that hung a little too low. And that was just what she saw right away.

But she also noted the couch with more cushions than she remembered, an armchair that hadn’t been there before, as well as some curtains that looked new. She began walking around the room, noticing there seemed to be many _little_ things.

Like a fake skull on the coffee table, place slightly off center, surrounded by old bottles of liquor. There was a small motorcycle figurine on the fireplace ledge, and she noted the random calendar on the wall, completely bare of anything. In fact, it was a whole month off, but it was of the current year.

“I should probably use that,” Wynonna came up behind her, looking at the calendar. “I got that cuz… I don’t know, people use calendars, right?”

“I use them.” Waverly mumbled, missing Wynonna’s large grin. She did not, however, miss the heavy slap on her shoulder, causing Waverly to stumble forward a little.

“Well, look at that.” Waverly couldn’t help the small smile on her face. She heard shuffling behind her and turned to see Wynonna shrug off her jacket, throwing it on the couch. It was then that Waverly noticed other random articles of clothing thrown about in a similar fashion.

The sight of the homestead looking so… _lived in_ warmed Waverly in a way that she had not expected it would. Wynonna spun around and spread her arms out, a grin on her face.

“Eh?” She said excitedly, large grin on her face. Waverly opened her mouth to say something, but Wynonna held her hands up.

“I know, I know, it doesn’t look like much… okay it looks like crap,” Wynonna shrugged. “But it’s not empty, and-” Wynonna took off to the kitchen, not waiting for Waverly to follow her.

Waverly slowly did, taking in the sight of the kitchen. It was much more bare than the living room, though not _empty_. The sink certainly was not empty, and Waverly noted the kitchen appliances spewed about. A blender (which was not used), a toaster (very much used), and a small sandwich grill.

“Look, we even got food.” Wynonna opened the fridge, revealing… not much. It was only filled a quarter of the way, a couple of cartons of eggs, a jug of milk, some slices of ham and cheese.

“I can’t eat most of that.” Waverly pointed out before she could stop herself, and Wynonna’s grin faltered. She closed the fridge and cleared her throat, looking down.

“Right, well, you know,” Wynonna shrugged. “You can add your own shit. Or don’t. Whatever floats your boat.” And with that, she walked out of the kitchen. Leaving Waverly standing in the kitchen, looking at the ceiling, cursing herself and her insensitive word choice, guilt eating away at her. She made her way back to the living room and saw Wynonna sitting on the couch, her feet up on the coffee table, aimlessly flipping through her phone.

“I left your room alone,” Wynonna spoke up, not glancing up from the device in her hand. “I figured you’d do what you’d want to it.” Wynonna explained and Waverly stood awkwardly in the middle of the room.

“The place looks nice.” Waverly said softly and Wynonna dropped her phone onto the couch, using her hand to rub the back of her neck.

“You think?” She looked around the room as well, suddenly inspecting everything as Waverly had. “I mean, it’s not much, Waves,” Wynonna laughed dryly and Waverly shook her head.

“It’s not, but,” She paused, trying to find the right words. “It doesn’t have to be.” Waverly finally moved, moving to sit next to Wynonna on the couch. Expecting a rigid cushion seat, she was momentarily caught off guard at how deep she sunk in and soft it was.

She had to admit, she could see herself laying on that couch in a blanket burrito.

At that thought she looked at Wynonna, who was now watching her. Waverly could see the walls already building up in her sister’s eyes, something she had seen too many times growing up. The same walls she had when she told Waverly to take care of herself and just left all those years ago.

“Do you really mean it?” Waverly said softly, her voice barely over a whisper. “You’re really staying?” Waverly felt Wynonna’s hand wrap around hers.

“I’m not leaving you again, baby girl.” Wynonna’s voice was soft, but it rung loud and clear in her ears. Waverly lunged forward, wrapping her arms around Wynonna. Wynonna made a strangled noise and fell back onto the couch, Waverly awkwardly falling on top of her.

“You can’t take that back, ya know.” Waverly spoke into Wynonna’s shoulder and she heard her sister chuckle, finally wrapping her arms around her.

“Don’t plan on it,” Waverly could practically _hear_ the grin on Wynonna’s face. They stayed there for some time, Waverly clinging onto Wynonna for dear life until she felt her older sister pat her back. “Alright, I love you but this is getting awkward as fuck.”

* * *

“You _sure_ you don’t wanna go to Shorty’s?” Wynonna sked for what was probably the tenth time. They were currently in the local video store, yes, Purgatory _still_ had one of those. Wynonna grabbed a movie off the shelf and flipped it over, glancing at the back.

“I want us to be able to bond, just the two of us, together.” Waverly said with a sweet smile that made Wynonna roll her eyes, but ultimately, even Wynonna couldn’t deny Waverly’s puppy dog eyes and sweet tone of voice.

“We’re not watching a rom-com,” Wynonna grumbled. “Just so you know,” With that, Wynonna turned around and began looking at another section, Waverly simply laughing to herself. “Unless you’re planning on watching that with that ginger cop.” Wynonna quipped, making Waverly choke on her spit.

“W-what?” Waverly croaked, already feeling a blush creeping up. Wynonna simply looked over at Waverly over the action section of the movies, squinting her eyes just slightly, before shrugging and looking back at the movies in front of her. Her eyes widened and she pulled out some DVD Waverly had never heard of, already forgotten her comment.

“Waves, check this out! I heard it’s actually pretty good.”

It turned it that it was not, Waverly mused, good enough to stop Wynonna from falling asleep mid-movie, empty alcoholic beverage ready to slip from her fingers any second. They had decided to have a movie night on the living room floor, blanket over both, catching up on the lost years.

Waverly updating Wynonna on her time working at Gus’s bar, which wasn’t much. It was the same thing, scrubbing the same tables, serving the same patrons, and stopping the same occasional bar fights with her trusty shotgun.

“What about those languages you got in there?” Wynonna had reached over and tapped Waverly’s forehead roughly.

“ _Non tamen ea scire,_ ” Waverly said with a cheeky grin as she slapped Wynonna’s hand away. Wynonna raised an eyebrow at her before laughing, downing the rest of her whiskey.

“You see, Waves, I don’t know what the fuck you just said,” Wynonna’s voice was beginning to slur as her eyes grew heavy, leaning her head back. “But I know you’re the best of us, the best damn Earp there was. Fuckin big brain of yours…” And with that, Wynonna’s breathing evened out, and Waverly reached over to grab the empty bottle of whiskey.

Waverly leaned back into her spot next to Wynonna, looking at the screen in front of her, not really paying attention to the movie as Wynonna’s words repeated themselves in her head. She hugged her knees and smiled, not fighting the warmth she felt. It had been so long since she had heard Wynonna talk about her like that.

It had been so long since Wynonna was in her life again. So long since Wynonna had been looking out for her like she had growing up. To hear it again brought a sense of comfort Waverly hadn’t realized she had been missing for a while now, warmed her up in a way that staying with Aunt Gus hadn’t. With a sigh she stood up, pulling Wynonna onto the floor carefully, grabbing one of the couch cushions to place under her head and placed a blanket over her.

“Night, Wy,” Waverly whispered, brushing some hair from her face. “I’m really happy you’re back.” With that, Waverly finally turned off the TV and slowly crept her way upstairs, the floorboards creaking underneath her weight.

Eventually she reached the end of the hallway and the last bedroom. She paused at the door, grabbing the handle. Waverly looked down the hallway, she could almost hear her sister, _both_ her sister’s in the hallway playing.

Willa and Wynonna giggling and running up and down the hall and Waverly still in her room. She would ask to join them, though she was just their annoying little sister and was usually told an outright no. Well, Wynonna would let her join, would make sure Waverly was included sometimes. Wynonna would check in on her. She would protect her.

From Willa.

From Willa who, once Wynonna left or turned her back, would play a cruel trick on Waverly. And then when Ward’s drinking became worse Willa turned more cruel.

And then Waverly didn’t hear them in the hall anymore, not if Ward was home. And Willa played more and more cruel pranks on her, causing Waverly to begin hiding from her eldest sibling. And soon the only noise was Waverly turning pages of her books, Willa and Wynonna sneaking off somewhere without her.

Waverly sighed, forcing the memories into the back of her mind and opened the door to her old bedroom.

It turned out Wynonna hadn’t been lying, she had left it as it was. The room was bare, she never was _really_ able to decorate growing up. Waverly sighed and crossed the room to her old bed until her legs hit the mattress and she fell face first onto the soft surface.

She let out a sigh and closed her eyes, only to open them moments later, rolling on her back to stare at the ceiling. She glanced around the room and her eyes landed on her old, small walk in closet.

She sat up abruptly as she gazed at the closet. Everything seemed to be exactly as she had left it. Waverly jumped onto her feet and walked to it, opening the door and peeking inside. Her eyes moved upward to a high shelf and her mouth broke into a wide grin.

* * *

Wynonna groaned as she woke up and immediately felt pain in her neck. She groggily sat up and began rubbing the base of her neck, adding a painful amount of pressure.

“Fucking hell,” She hissed. She blinked away her sleep and turned her body, finally noticing her surroundings. She immediately looked at the couch, empty. “Waves?” She yelled out but received no answer. She got up and began walking though the rooms of the first floor.

After hearing and seeing nothing, a slight panic took over. Had Waverly left? She pulled out her phone and checked it, no word from Waverly. There was no way she just left then… right?

Wynonna tried to push the thoughts on her mind. If Waverly regretted coming over the homestead and wanted nothing to do with it or Wynonna, well… Wynonna could already feel the punch in her gut. She eventually made her way up to the second floor and reached the end of the hall and lightly knocked on Waverly’s door.

“Baby girl?” When she heard no answer, she slowly opened the door and peeked her head in. her face softened, and she smiled at the sight before her. She walked in fully and walked up to the bed where Waverly had laid, completely surrounded by old books. Wynonna picked one up, flipping through the old and weathered pages. Not that she could read any of them, as they were all in the Latin language.

“Fucking nerd,” Wynonna laughed. She looked down at Waverly and couldn’t help the warmness that settled in her heart as she watched her baby sister asleep, looking without a care in the world. “Proud of you, baby girl.” Wynonna cleared her throat softly and placed the book back. She reached out and lightly slapped Waverly’s cheek.

“Waaaaves.” Wynonna sang out, slowly adding pressure to the slaps. Waverly jerked away and looked around disorientated.

“Huh? Wha?” She groaned, looking around the room.

“Wake up, sleepy head.” Wynonna spoke, much louder than necessary and Waverly winced at the sound.

“What time is it?” Waverly croaked.

“Shit, I don’t know.” Wynonna shrugged as Waverly grabbed her phone and promptly unlocked it.

“Wynonna it’s _nine_ in the morning,” Waverly squinted at Wynonna. “Why are you awake this early. No, wait, _how_ are you awake this early?”

“You know, I _could_ be offended by that,” Wynonna scoffed. “But I’m gonna choose not to, anyway here we are and I’m hungry, soooo… breakfast time, lets go.” Waverly laughed slightly and shook her head.

“You’re a little shit-ticket, you know that?” Wynonna simply stuck her tongue out at Waverly and told her to hurry up before promptly leaving the room.

* * *

It was decided that breakfast was to be at the Gibson home, with Gus. Most of it was spent with Wynonna talking about Waverly’s reaction to the homestead and their subsequence movie night. Gus simply listened, drinking her coffee and humming in response. It was then that Waverly brought up staying at the homestead for a few nights.

“I think that’s a wonderful idea, honey.” Gus said, putting her hand over Waverly’s.

“Hell yeah it is, Gus,” Wynonna grinned. “We should celebrate, at the homestead.” Both Gus and Waverly rolled their eyes.

“Wynonna,” Gus began. “Don’t you try to rope Waverly into one of your shenanigans.”

“Shenanigans?” Wynonna scoffed and Waverly simply giggled as she watched her aunt and sister begin a playful, light-hearted argument.

Waverly could get used to more breakfasts like this.

It wasn’t long until Gus needed to go to her shift at Shorty’s, with Waverly stating she was going to meet Gus there after a much-needed vegan grocery run and collect a few of her things to bring to the homestead.

“You need some help?” Wynonna asked as they made their way out of the home and down the steps to their respective cars. Well, to Waverly’s jeep and Wynonna’s motorcycle that she didn’t allow anyone to touch.

“No, it’s just some clothes and maybe a couple of books.” Waverly replied.

“Alright, I’ll see you there later tonight,” Wynonna said. “Got some shit to do.” Waverly thought about asking Wynonna _what_ it was that she did, but the wind was a continuous slap to her face, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know what Wynonna did on her free time.

After her grocery errands and stocking the fridge to an adequate food supply amount, it wasn’t long until her shift started, and she wasted no time in heading to Shorty’s. Once she was parked and looked at the time, she sighed in relief that she had enough time to begin bringing some of her belongings from the apartment upstairs to her car, knowing she wasn’t going to want to do it after her shift.

It wasn’t a very big apartment, Gus had rented it out for Waverly and Wynonna, so the younger Earp had somewhere to rest after a long day if she was too tired to drive home, and so the older Earp had somewhere safe to pass out. Though both girls didn’t try to make a habit of using it too much, Waverly enjoyed staying with her Aunt and Wynonna did what she wanted no matter how drunk.

After the second trip to her car, shoving a second bag of clothes and a couple of books in the backseat of her car, she spun around only to become face to face with Champ Hardy.

“Waves!” He said with a grin and Waverly couldn’t suppress her groan of frustration. She simply turned back around and slammed her door with force.

“What, Champ?” Waverly snapped.

“Why you gotta sound like that?” She heard Champ grumble under his breath and Waverly turned back around.

“I sound like this because you keep bothering me. I have to go, bye Champ.” Waverly turned to walk away but Champ reached out, grabbing her wrist.

“Wait!” He yelled frantically and she gritted her teeth. Champ glanced inside her car and frowned. “You moving out of that apartment? I saw you going back and forth-”

“Were you _watching_ me?” Waverly gasped.

“N-no! I tried to say hi to you, but you didn’t notice… I still wanna talk about us, maybe…” His voice changed from the sad tone it had to something else, a grin on his lips now as he leaned in just slightly.

She wanted to barf.

“No,” Waverly watched his face turned to one of confusion. “I know what you’re thinking. No. I’m _never_ getting back together with you. We are and always will be over. Goodbye, Champ.” She tore her wrist out of his grip and began storming back to Shorty’s.

“Babe-wait-” Champ started, and Waverly felt her blood begin to boil.

“I suggest you leave her alone, Hardy.” Waverly heard a familiar voice and they both turned to see Nicole standing behind Champ, thumbs tucked behind her utility belt and a frown on her face, and Waverly felt her breath hitch.

 _Damn._ Was all Waverly could really think, as her eyes moved down Nicole’s body a little slower than necessary and lingered a little longer than she would like to admit. She quickly shook her head, trying to get the unnecessary thoughts about the officer out of her head.

“Hey, we’re just having a conversation here, okay,” Champ replied without hesitation, not _quite_ looking at who he was talking to. “So you can leave.” He finished, before finally turning around and looking at the person in front of him. His eyes seemed to bulge out slightly once it landed on the badge and Waverly sighed.

At Champ, once again, speaking without really thinking of his words, or really paying attention to what was around him. Nicole stood up straighter than Waverly thought possible and took a small step towards Champ.

“I don’t think I need to remind you that you’re speaking to an officer of the law.” Nicole’s voice was low and her mouth in a hard line, and Waverly didn’t know why but the sound of Nicole’s authoritative voice sent a shiver down her spine.

“No, of course not, sorry, officer.” Champ mumbled, not quite meeting Nicole’s eyes.

“Then I suggest you leave her alone and leave, now.” Nicole spoke again and Champ looked directly at Nicole now, eyes squinting slightly as he stared. Then his eyes widened slightly and he stood up straight as well, chin tilted up as he finally looked her up and down once.

“Wait a second,” He stated. “You’re the cop that got me locked up.” Nicole scoffed.

“You were drunk and bothering people,” Nicole glanced over Champ’s shoulder at Waverly for a split second before crossing her arms and staring Champ down again. “I see you’re not that much different sober.” Champ sneered and balled his hands into fists. He made a move to step forward to Nicole, however, he paused when a voice called out.

“ _Goodbye_ , Champ.” Waverly groaned. Champ glanced at Waverly, shoulders sagging slightly.

“See you later, Waves.” Champ spoke, glaring at Nicole the entire time, before walking off. Nicole watched him until he was a safe distance before looking back at Waverly, who had her hands on her hips and was _not_ looking as happy as Nicole had hoped.

“You done comparing dicks, now?” Waverly huffed and Nicole sputtered at the comment.

“I, uh,” Nicole brought a hand to the back of her neck, face red with embarrassment as she looked down at the ground. “Sorry.” She mumbled, kicking the asphalt a little bit. Waverly sighed as she watched Nicole suddenly shift demeaner, suddenly finding the ground more interesting.

“Well,” Waverly leaned against her car and clasped her hands in front of her. “Thank you, anyway.” Nicole looked up and when she saw Waverly’s smile she couldn’t help the goofy grin.

“No problem,” Nicole walked up to Waverly. “May I?” Nicole asked, motioning towards Waverly’s car. At Waverly’s nod, Nicole leaned against it as well, just barely enough space between them that kept their bodies apart, but close enough to feel each other’s warmth.

“I guess I did go unnecessarily extra on him.” Nicole sighed, looking rather gloom. Waverly simply laughed lightly.

“If it makes you feel better, Wynonna’s usually harder on him.” Waverly admitted, remembering all the times Wynonna would purposely scare Champ or belittle him. Both of which weren’t hard to do.

“He doesn’t seem very well liked.” Nicole mused, and Waverly hummed in response.

“I liked him, once,” Waverly said softly. “I thought I did, at least. But we never matched. I was just a pretty face for him,” Waverly laughed and shook her head. “But I can’t put all the blame on him, he was an easy choice. We were high school sweethearts, ya know? Everyone’s dream.” Waverly sighed and the two fell into a silence.

“But…” Nicole started, brow furrowed as she thought about her next words. “What’s _your_ dream, Waverly? What do _you_ want?” Waverly looked up at Nicole, who was looking at Waverly with a sense of curiosity.

She opened her mouth, only to close it, and looked down. _Her_ dream. What _she_ wanted.

It had been some time since she had taken the time to stop and think about that.

“I… I don’t know, honestly,” Waverly frowned, a feeling of uncomfortableness that crept its way to her at her own answer. “What about you?” Waverly quickly asked, and Nicole looked at the sky in contemplation.

“What I want, huh,” Nicole muttered to herself. “I guess what I’m doing now, to serve and protect.”

“So noble,” Waverly giggled, and Nicole grinned at her. “Is that why I never seem to see you out of uniform?” Waverly felt herself reach out to flatten a small, nearly unnoticeable wrinkle on Nicole’s chest. She quickly pulled her hand back, hoping Nicole hadn’t noticed the gesture.

“Of course, justice never sleeps.” Nicole grinned and Waverly laughed.

“Purgatory’s very own knight in shining armor,” Waverly mused. “I’m sure justice has a shift end?” Waverly asked, missing the way Nicole’s cheeks now had a red tint to them.

“I suppose.” Nicole replied.

“You think justice can stop by for Shorty’s for a bit tonight? I’m working closing shift. You don’t have to though!” Waverly quickly added, and she felt the words in her head begin to spill out of her mouth as she stood up straight, like what always seemed to happen around Nicole. “I’m sure you’ll be tired, you know what, it’s fine, never mind I-”

“Justice would love to stop by, Waverly,” Nicole’s voice cut through her rambling. Nicole stood up as well and the two faced each other. “I’ll see you there.” Waverly beamed at Nicole and Nicole couldn’t get enough. With the tip of her Stetson, Nicole spun on her heels and both women went to work with a smile on their faces.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole Haught is the new deputy in Purgatory and has the (mis)fortune of issuing her first ticket in the town to none other than Waverly Earp. It seems ever since then; the universe brings them together more and more and Waverly slowly starts to think that maybe that ticket was the best damn thing to happen to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't decide on which nickname Waverly uses for Wynonna, cuz I like both, so she just alternates between Wy and Nonna. Anyway hope you all like this chapter, it's a bit longer than the last and hopefully this one speeds up the Wayhaught a little bit. Happy reading and hope everyone's staying safe out there!

“So, you’re having a little get together at your place, and I’m invited?” Nicole asked. The two were at the bar, Waverly working and collecting empty glasses, while Nicole sipped on her beer. It was after Nicole’s shift, per usual, and late enough that the last of the patrons were slowly making their way out.

“My temporary place, but yes,” Waverly replied brightly. She wasn’t sure how long she would stay at the homestead, it had only been a couple of days that she had stayed and had finally gathered the courage to invite Nicole to the welcoming party Wynonna had insisted on having. “Unless, I mean, you don’t have to-” Waverly’s nervousness kicked in and she felt herself rambling.

“No, I-I’d love to!” Nicole said quickly and loudly. She cleared her throat and rubbed the back of her neck. “I, uh, is Wynonna okay with that?”

It wasn’t that she was afraid of the older Earp, Nicole was more than capable to deal with the other woman, she just didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes or make problems for Waverly.

“I can handle Wynonna, besides, it’s _my_ place too, I can invite who I want, aaaaand,” Waverly bit her lip and reached out, putting her hand over Nicole’s. “I want to invite you.” She added softly and Nicole felt her cheeks burn up. She looked down and let out a soft chuckle.

“Well,” Nicole set down her now empty glass and she _knew_ she hadn’t drank enough to feel any effect, but in the back of her mind she was going to blame the alcohol on her next act of bravery. Nicole placed her hand over Waverly’s, thumb stroking the knuckles underneath. “I’m honored for the invite.”

Waverly beamed at her response, and Nicole smiled brightly at her, dimples popping in the way that made Waverly’s breath hitch. The two stared for some time before the sound of a chair scraping against hardwood caused them to break apart. Waverly took Nicole’s glass and began washing it, both avoiding eye contact and a blush on their cheeks.

Now without a glass to focus on, Nicole spun around in her stool and looked around the space, at the photos that lined the walls. The last patron had finally left, and Nicole wandered about as Waverly took the familiar route of locking the door and went to wipe the last couple of tables.

“Oh, here, I can help.” Nicole offered as Waverly began walking past her. Waverly paused and looked at Nicole, a small playful grin on her lips.

“Moonlighting as a barmaid now, officer?” Waverly teased and Nicole grinned.

“What can I say, I’m a woman of different talents,” Nicole teased back, gently prying the cloth from Waverly’s fingers. The short brunette felt herself warm up at the contact of Nicole’s fingers on hers, finding her grip lessen with ease. “Plus, you can go straight to sweeping and mopping and go home earlier.”

“ _Fine,_ ” Waverly huffed lightheartedly, a smile softening her tone. “Just this once,” She turned around, only to turn back. “And I’m going to evaluate your work later.” She joked, which caused Nicole to look over her shoulder and grin. Once Nicole turned back, Waverly watched as Nicole slightly bent over the table and Waverly’s eyes slowly roamed down the taller woman’s body.

Once her eyes landed on Nicole’s ass and those tight uniform pants, her face flushed red and she quickly whipped around, unable to stop the strange noise coming from her throat.

 _Oh my gosh, Waverly, what the hell are you doing._ Waverly chastised herself. Not looking to see if Nicole had looked behind her, she grabbed the broom and by the time she brought out the mop, Nicole had put the washcloth back and was patiently waiting at the bar.

“How was my work?” Nicole asked when Waverly gave the tables a side glance.

“Passable.” Waverly replied with a small smile and Nicole laughed. Waverly made quick work of mopping, without slipping, and the two made their way outside. Nicole walked Waverly to her car, leaning slightly against it as Waverly opened her door and threw her belongings inside.

“So, I’ll see you this weekend, then?” Waverly asked. “You’ll get to meet some other people, too.”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Nicole replied and tapped the top of Waverly’s jeep. “Goodnight, Waverly.” Waverly watched as Nicole walked to her cruiser, her heart already beating fast in anticipation.

Waverly had found out Nicole had a day off, and as much as Waverly loved seeing the officer in her uniform, she would finally see Nicole out of uniform. Waverly had never been as excited to see someone in regular everyday clothes, idly wondering what sort of style the redhead chose for herself.

And Waverly tried to suppress her giddy-ness as she drove home.

* * *

It had only been three days, which many people would think was not an exceedingly long time, and normally three days would flash in the blink of an eye for Waverly. However, it had ended up being the longest three days of her life.

But finally, _finally_ , it was the day of the “get together”. It was _not_ a party, despite how much Wynonna called it one. So, the amount of alcohol on the kitchen table was, in Waverly’s opinion, and unnecessary amount. She was currently standing at the doorway, gaping at the sight, when Wynonna came through the door with another bag of liquor.

“Wynonna!” Waverly yelled, hands on her hips. “We don’t need that much, it’s a get-together!”

“Yeah,” Wynonna said, the bag making an audible clink as it was placed on the table. “And this get-together is gonna be a bash. Plus, Doc’s coming and no offence but we’ll probably outdrink you and baby Nedley. Mostly baby Nedley. And maybe Haught pants, I don’t know,” Wynonna grinned and winked at Waverly. “We’ll have to put that theory to the test.”

“No, no we are not,” Waverly gasped. “And I thought his name was John Henry or something.” Waverly hadn’t met whoever Wynonna’s friend was but heard a few things from her sister.

All she knew was that he talked like a cowboy and he had helped with the repairs of the homestead. And… nothing else, actually. Though after Wynonna had begun telling her how _great_ he was at using his guns, with a wink and a “if you know what I mean”, she was sure she did not want to know more.

“Tomato, tomato,” Wynonna said with a wave of her hand. “Anyway, I’m sure she can handle more than one beer, baby girl.” Wynonna scoffed and Waverly regretted telling Wynonna about Nicole’s visits to the bar.

“That’s not the point,” Waverly replied, moving to the fridge. “The _point_ is that I come down to have breakfast and see more booze than we have at Shorty’s,” Waverly easily began making breakfast, hearing the bottles moving behind her and she was _praying_ Wynonna wasn’t adding to the pile. “I’m not cleaning up throw-up.” She explained, finally turning around to see Wynonna holding a bottle of whiskey.

“Don’t worry, me and Doc can hold our liquor, and I’ll make sure the other two don’t vomit all over the place,” She laughed lightly and walked to Waverly, holding out the bottle. “But _you_ have to relax and enjoy yourself.” Waverly sighed and looked at the bottle being offered to her.

Relax. Enjoy herself. She took the bottle from Wynonna’s hand and brought it to her lips, taking a good chug out of it.

“Nice,” Wynonna said approvingly, taking it once Waverly passed it back to her. “You’ve worked hard between Shorty’s, your studies… _Champ_ ,” Waverly didn’t miss Wynonna’s tone at his name. “So, enjoy yourself, okay?” At Waverly’s nod Wynonna smiled and kissed the top of her head.

“Everything is gonna be _fine_ , Waves.” Wynonna said and Waverly hoped so, it was going to be the first time she got to _really_ hang out with Nicole outside her shift. Sure, she was going to be hanging out with everyone else too, but this time she wasn’t going to have to worry about serving customers as she talked to Nicole.

Not that she was _that_ excited to see Nicole. She was a perfectly normal amount of excited.

Yeah, that was all.

* * *

Doc was the first to come over, and Waverly found out what Wynonna meant about his apparent “cowboy shtick”. From his dark button up and open vest, to his cowboy hat, to his southern drawl, it looked like he had just walked off a set from the wild west. He tipped his hat as he reached out a hand, allowing Wynonna to introduce him to her.

“Waves, this is…” Wynonna paused, hands held out in front of her as she seemed in thought

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Wavery, your sister has told me nothing but good things.” He drawled out, unfazed by Wynonna’s pause.

“Sorry,” Waverly began awkwardly. “Should I call you Doc, or John Henry, or Henry, or…?”

“Whichever you prefer is fine by me,” Doc replied with a shrug, though at Waverly’s look of concentration, seemingly still unsure, he let out a chuckle. “How about Doc. Short and simple.”

“Oh, sure,” Waverly smiled, one Doc easily returned. “Why _do_ people call you Doc?”

“If I am being honest, I’m not quite sure,” He explained. “It is a name I’ve just acquired over the years.” Doc said it simply, as if that told Waverly anything.

“Alright, enough chit-chat, lets drink!” Wynonna perked up behind Doc, and Waverly didn’t miss the way Wynonna had subtly pulled Doc towards the kitchen by his belt loop. Waverly followed with the roll of her eyes, though she had to admit, of all the guys Wynonna hung around, Doc was… nice.

At least he was polite, though she thought he certainly talked funny.

It wasn’t long after when Chrissy arrived, with Waverly answering the door and giving her a bone-crushing hug.

“Waves, I’m _liking_ the place.” Chrissy gushed as she looked around the room.

“Thanks, but this is all Wynonna.” Waverly explained with a smile.

“Wow,” Chrissy laughed. “I guess she _does_ have some sense of style.”

“I _heard_ that, you little brat!” They heard Wynonna yell from the kitchen, presumably filling up her cup again, causing them both to giggle at each other.

* * *

Waverly wasn’t worried, and she certainly wasn’t constantly looking at the clock. Or her phone. Or anything with the time.

Nicole hadn’t arrived yet, and Waverly was worried that perhaps the other woman had changed her mind. She tried her hardest to focus on the conversation she was currently in, sandwiched between the armrest of the sofa and Chrissy. Doc was next to Chrissy, and Wynonna beside him, both listening to a story he was sharing.

Waverly sighed and she took a sip of her drink, trying not to think of the feeling of disappointment that was beginning to rise. She knew she shouldn’t feel the pit in her stomach drop the way it did, she had no why idea was having the redhead over was so important to her.

Just as she was about to give up hope and attempt to not rudely ignore everyone anymore, she heard the doorbell ring. Before her mind even caught up with her, she shot up from the couch, startling everyone.

“I’ll get it!” Waverly slightly yelled, ignoring Chrissy snickering beside her.

“Honestly, between you and my dad, I’m excited to meet this new cop.” Chrissy commented and Waverly shot her a look.

“Oh, Deputy Haught-to-Trot is something, alright.” Wynonna replied.

“I’m ignoring the both of you.” Waverly muttered under her breath, causing the other two to snicker amongst themselves even more. She made her way to the door, stopping just in front of it to flatten any wrinkles on her sweater and brush her fingers through her hair. With a clearing of her throat she finally opened the door, revealing Nicole on the other side.

Waverly’s breath hitched slightly at the sight of the taller woman on her porch, illuminated by the light beside the front door. Nicole broke into a smile upon seeing Waverly and ducked her head slightly.

“Hey, Waves.” Nicole greeted first.

“Nicole, hey,” Waverly replied with a smile, both simply looking at each other.

“Sooo…” Nicole shivered and pulled her jacket tighter. “Think I can come in?”

“Oh my god, yes, I’m so sorry, Nicole,” Waverly jumped, immediately grabbing Nicole’s hand, and pulling her inside. “It’s freezing out there.”

“Good thing its warm in here.” Nicole chuckled, pulling off her jacket. She looked around, unsure where to put it.

“Here, let me.” Waverly grabbed her jacket, letting her fingers graze Nicole’s. Now that Nicole had taken her coat off, Waverly eyed Nicole’s outfit. She was wearing a nice dark blue blouse, sleeves rolled up at the elbows, showing off her strong but soft forearms and gray jeans and dark shoes that matched her top.

“You look… great,” Waverly breathed out, eyes slowly moving down Nicole’s body. As they moved back up, they paused where Nicole had the top two buttons undone, revealing the smooth milky white skin, collarbones visible. Waverly bit her lip as she thought about what it would be like to just… nip at them, feel that smooth skin underneath her touch. She blushed and forced herself to tear her eyes away, back up to Nicole looking at her with dark eyes, biting her own lips. “O-out of your uniform, I mean.”

“Thank you,” Nicole replied shyly and motioned and Waverly’s clothing. “You look amazing, out of your Shorty’s uniform also.” Waverly tucked a hair behind her ear, looking down at the simple gray cardigan sweater she wore, white blouse underneath and jeans.

“Yo, you guys gonna stand there all day or what?” They heard Wynonna’s voice yell out and they both gave each other a nervous laugh.

“You go ahead, I’ll put this up for you.” Waverly said softly, and Nicole nodded, moving towards Wynonna’s voice. As Waverly put the coat away, she could hear Wynonna _already_ calling out the nicknames and saw her drag Nicole to the alcohol.

Well, she supposed Wynonna was going to put Nicole’s drinking ability to the test whether she liked it or not. Waverly felt the nerves in the pit of her stomach, and she had decided to have another drink, hoping it would put them at ease. When she had walked back to the living room, she saw Nicole was seated on the couch, where she had been, seated next to Chrissy.

“It’s nice to finally meet the daughter Nedley talks about.” Nicole said and Chrissy smiled.

“And it’s nice to finally meet the new Deputy my dad raves all about.” Chrissy replied and Nicole laughed, rubbing the back of her head.

“He does?”

“Oh, _does_ he,” Chrissy laughed with a roll of her eyes. “It’s all ‘the new kid this’ and ‘new kid that’, honestly I’m happy he doesn’t have to worry about Lonnie using the wrong forms again.”

“Lonnie’s not always the brightest.” Nicole laughed and Waverly smiled at the two, happy her best friend got along with Nicole. Nicole glanced up at Waverly and smiled at her, that _freaking_ dimple making Waverly’s breath hitch.

“Wanna sit down? I can just…” Nicole looked around, realizing the couch was at full capacity and began standing up. “I can move over there.” She pointed the armchair.

“Oh, no, it’s okay,” Waverly quickly walked over, hand out and stopping Nicole in her tracks. “You’re our guest, stay, I’ll just-”

“Just squeeze in here, Waves!” Chrissy spoke loudly, grabbing Waverly’s wrist and pulling her forward. Before the brunette could protest, she was shoved down into the little space between Chrissy and Nicole.

She let out a squeak as Chrissy had somehow effectively got her firmly sandwiched between the two. Nicole moved as much as she could but even then, Waverly still felt her arm pressed firmly against Nicole’s, burning at the touch.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, a waft of vanilla tickled her nose and it was slightly infuriating. Waverly peeked at Nicole out of the corner of her eye, lips twitched just slightly into a smile and cheeks tinted a shade redder as she gazed intently at her drink.

“Sorry, for the, uh, crampedness.” Waverly said softly and Nicole chuckled lightly, and Waverly was sure she felt it vibrate between them. She tried her best not to dwell on it, or the feeling of Nicole’s side pressed against hers, or the fact that with every subtle shift she felt Nicole’s hips against hers.

“No worries, Waves.” Nicole grinned as she moved her arm from her side to give Waverly some room. Instead she moved her arm to the back of the couch, and Waverly’s mind momentarily wondered what it would feel like to have that arm wrapped around _her_ , or if she were to lean back, just a little bit, and maybe lay her head down for a second…

“Ugh, too crowded,” Wynonna muttering broke her out of her thoughts and Waverly looked to see her sitting at the end of the couch, leaning as far out as she possibly could, looking slightly annoyed. Her expression quickly changed to a grin and she stood up, the now available space instantly felt by everyone. “Beer pong time!”

Doc stood up and immediately went to help Wynonna, allowing Chrissy to move to the other side of the couch, and Waverly was able to release a breath she hadn’t known she was holding.

* * *

“Haught-shot, why the _hell_ are you so good at this?” Wynonna grumbled, watching the ball soar through the air and land square in a cup in front of her. She moved the offending cup to the side with one hand and downed her drink with the other, watching as Nicole simply smiled and shrugged.

“College parties are a great way to practice, I guess.” Nicole replied.

“Ooh, was deputy goody-two-shoes a wild child back in college?” I bet you were a total frat boy… err, girl?” Wynonna teased. Waverly couldn’t help the way she perked up at the mention of both a college experience and something from Nicole’s past.

She wanted to have a full college experience, but it was just… not possible. She didn’t want to leave Gus to work at the bar alone, washing tables and serving unusual patrons. Sure, Shorty was always there, but Waverly always felt that she should give back in some way to the woman who helped raise her, to the only family she had left after Wynonna left. So, despite Gus’s insistence that she had the bar handled perfectly fine, Waverly took online classes and helped with Shorty’s.

And she was happy with her choice, she certainly didn’t regret anything.

But a part of her wondered what a college life would be like. A campus life, away from the small town of Purgatory. Would there be a lot of parties? Would she go to them?

She imagined what it would feel like, walking down the walkways of a campus, feeling the first day jitters. Books held tightly to her chest, looking for her classes. Maybe she would continue cheerleading as a sport. Hell, maybe even join a sorority.

Waverly glanced up at Nicole, wondering what Police Academy Nicole was like.

Did she party a lot? Waverly watched as Nicole kept her own smirk at Wynonna, rolling up her sleeves, though it seemed mostly for show, as they were already rolled up perfectly fine.

Was she as confident as she was now? Was she _more_ confident?

She suddenly felt something hit her head, hard, and she yelped. She staggered backwards as she rubbed her head and looked around. At the sound of snickering, she whipped her head to the source, to Wynonna.

“Get your head in the game, Waves.” Wynonna said, tapping her own head.

“Shut up.” Waverly snapped back. A quick glance around the floor and she found the small white ball and picked it up, throwing it back at Wynonna. It hit Wynonna square in the forehead with a resounding slap, making Waverly proud of herself, until she heard Nicole laugh beside her.

Just as quickly her feeling of pride turned to one of embarrassment. Why, she wasn’t sure, but somehow, she felt insecure and hyper-aware of her actions. Suddenly the normal response to her sister being an ass felt childish and she was sure Nicole thought she was just some immature small-town girl.

“Looks like you got some aim there,” Nicole remarked, voice light and playful, and Waverly looked over to see Nicole grinning at her. They heard Wynonna scoff from the other side of the table, though neither was paying attention. Waverly gave Nicole a shy smile and the sound of water splashing caused them to look away. Nicole looked down to see the small ball bobbing in the water, causing Nicole to laugh lightly. “Guess it runs in the family.”

* * *

After Nicole had beat Wynonna in beer pong, they had reset the table, this time Waverly and Chrissy had played, both not nearly as good as the other two. Doc simply watched and had conversation with the girls, and Waverly had to admit it was a pleasant one at that.

Doc was certainly less crass than Wynonna, and even when he was, it somehow came off more polite than Wynonna.

They had gotten so caught up in their game, even going again after noticing it was still only the three of them in the room. After multiple missed shots, so much so they even allowed Doc to shoot for both at times, they hadn’t realized an hour had passed.

And that was when Waverly started to worry, Wynonna was… Wynonna and may be trying to scare Nicole off somehow for all she knew. She quickly looked around, vaguely noticing Chrissy yawn and stumble her way to the couch with her current drink.

“Miss Waverly, if it’s your sister and Nicole you are looking for, I do believe I found them.” Doc had a hint of amusement in his voice and Waverly saw him pushing the curtain of the tiny front door window to the side, hand on his hip as he chuckled.

“What?” She scrunched her eyebrows together and she grabbed her jacket, and Doc moved out of her way, allowing her to step outside and to the scene in front of her.

Wynonna’s motorcycle was in front of the homestead; however, _Nicole_ was the one sitting on it, and Wynonna sat behind her. Nicole’s big brown eyes blinked, looking almost as if she herself was confused as to how she got there, and Wynonna was grinning behind her.

“Think about it, Haught, trade that boring cruiser for a bike, and you’re golden,” Wynonna laughed as she leaned back, glancing at the sky for a second before looking at the back of Nicole’s head. She reached up and ruffled Nicole’s hair roughly, causing the other woman to grumble and reach up in an attempt to knock the hands away.

It was an odd sight to see Wynonna being playful towards Nicole, not that she was upset about it. She felt a warmth in her chest to see Wynonna being friendly towards someone other than herself.

So often she had seen Wynonna be by herself, drinking herself to a stupor. Once that rebellious streak had started, when she did hang out with others, it was always with a crowd that led her farther down a slippery path.

She smiled at the two, Wynonna teasing Nicole as the redhead hovered her hands awkwardly over the bike, as if it were made of glass.

“What’s going on here?” Waverly asked cheerfully, watching as both women snapped their heads up.

“Well, Haught-Shot told me about her run in with Chump,” Waverly rolled her eyes at the nickname as a giggle escaped from Nicole’s throat. A giggle that Waverly found alarmingly cute. “So, I figured I guess I’ll let her sit on my bike for sticking up for you.” Wynonna finished with a shrug, trying to seem unfazed, but Waverly smiled brightly at Wynonna.

“That’s sweet of you, Nonna.” Waverly replied and Wynonna groaned and faked gagging.

“Please, it’s just this once,” Wynonna scoffed before leaning toward Nicole with a grin. “I was just telling ginger cop here if she pulled up in a bike, all the guys will want a ride on that, if you know what I mean.”

“Ew, Wynonna!” Waverly rolled her eyes, though the sound of a chuckle brought her eyes to Nicole, who was rubbing her neck.

“It’s not really the guys I’m trying to impress, if you know what I mean.” Both sisters stopped to stare for a second, then realization hit.

“O-oh,” Waverly blushed, and Nicole glanced towards her shyly, a blush on her own cheeks, her lips twitched into a smile before she glanced back to the handlebars of the bike.

“Well, Haught damn,” Wynonna replied. “Even better, just have the girls ride behind you, like this,” Wynonna grinned as she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Nicole’s waist, grin deepening at Nicole’s stutter of surprise.

Waverly felt a wave of… something wash over her. Her jaw clenched and she felt a pit in her stomach at the sight of Wynonna wrapped around Nicole like that. She knew it was silly, both women on the bike weren’t interested in each other, and even if they were… Waverly had no right to be upset. Wynonna and Nicole could like whoever they want, and if they happened to like each other (which Waverly reminded herself they _did not_ ) that was no one’s business but their own.

And yet, she couldn’t help the wave of possession that tried to take over, to not stomp over and pull them apart, tell Wynonna to beat it and go back to Doc.

As her eyes stayed glued to Wynonna’s arms, she tried to imagine what her own arms clinging tightly to Nicole’s waist, feeling the muscles underneath the fabric of her clothes, face pressed against her shoulder.

The sound of snorting snapped Waverly out of her thoughts, inhaling sharply and blinking. She quickly found herself almost missing a scenario that would never happen and felt further confused by the stinging behind her eyes. She blinked again and cleared her throat, trying to shake off whatever was coursing through her at the moment.

“Get off me, Earp.” Nicole laughed, slapping Wynonna’s hand. Wynonna snickered and climbed off the bike.

“You’re not my type anyway, Haught.” Wynonna laughed and began making her way to the homestead but stopped near Waverly.

“You okay, baby girl?” Wynonna asked, noticing the odd look on her younger sister’s face.

“Huh? Oh, yeah,” Waverly blinked, still trying to get an understanding of her own emotional turmoil. “Go on and get your drink on, we’ll be right behind you.” Waverly smiled, hoping to put her sister to ease.

“Well, don’t stay out too long and freeze.” With that, Wynonna went back to the house, leaving Waverly and Nicole outside. Waverly looked up at Nicole, who was currently attempting to get off the bike, and mused that Nicole _would_ look good on a motorcycle. She _did_ look good on one.

And she sure as hell looked good getting off one.

It seemed Nicole’s foot got caught on the bike, or her foot slipped, Waverly wasn’t sure, all she knew was that the surprised squeak she heard coming from Nicole was absolutely adorable, followed by the sight of Nicole falling flat on her back.

“Oh my god, Nicole,” Waverly was at her side in a flash. “Are you okay?” She knelt beside Nicole, who began laughing, hand on her stomach as her body shook. Waverly paused and stared, watching Nicole’s face lit up from joy, the smile and laughter seemingly spilling out from her, unfiltered by anything. Her red hair was sprayed out around her, glowing against the white snow, and Waverly thought she looked like an angel in that moment.

“I, uh,” Nicole calmed herself down a bit, laughter subsided and grinned up at Waverly. “I think I drank more than I planned.” Waverly laughed, noticing Nicole wasn’t necessarily slurring too bad, but her voice certainly had a higher pitch to it, and she seemed looser in general.

“That tends to happen if you drink with Wynonna.” Nicole laughed and smiled at Waverly, her large brown eyes shining. She glanced behind Waverly and her eyes widened.

“Waves, look.” She breathed out and Waverly looked behind her shoulder, looking up at the night sky and chuckled. She quickly got on her back, the snow made her shiver, already finding its way down her shirt, and she instinctively shifted closer to the redhead. They both laid there gazing at the bright dots in the sky, surrounded by smaller lights and subtle swirls of the vast space beyond.

“I’ve never seen them like this,” Nicole spoke softly. “Being from the city, you don’t see em like this, light pollution and all that.”

“It _is_ beautiful, isn’t it?” Waverly replied, looking at Nicole. The moonlight danced around her face, highlighting her features and Waverly _swore_ she could see the stars reflected in those eyes. She could see Nicole’s eyes moving through each constellation before glancing at Waverly’s direction and turning her head. She smiled at Waverly, turning so she was on her side, facing the other woman.

“Yeah, it is.” Waverly felt her heart skip as she looked at those bright brown eyes, dimples full display, looking at her with softness and amazement. Perhaps it was the fact that Waverly was sure what was happening seemed like a scene from a movie, but before she knew it laughter bubbled out of her.

“Was that too cheesy?” Nicole asked before laughing and rolling on her back, covering her face with her hands. “Oh my god, it was.”

“No, no!” Waverly comforted, rolling on her side to grab one of Nicole’s hands. It was soft and smooth and, despite the cold, seemed to be holding on to a little bit of warmth. Her fingers easily wrapped around Nicole’s palm, who closed her fingers around her hand in response. “I thought it was sweet.”

Nicole turned onto her side again, facing Waverly and looked at their joined hands. Nicole reached up with her other hand, effectively covering Waverly’s hand completely, rubbing it lightly.

“You know,” Waverly said after some time. “I used to sneak out and look at the stars when I was little,” Waverly looked at their hands, and opened her mouth, only to close it again before taking a deep breath. “Especially after Momma left, and my Daddy would get drunk. He’d get mean, and yell at everyone, and sometimes get violent and I-” Her voice choked up slightly and she cleared her throat. Nicole simply listened, sliding closer and wrapped an arm around Waverly, rubbing circles on her back. “Well, Wynonna always covered for me, and I’d run to the barn to look at the stars until Daddy fell asleep, and Wynonna would come get me.”

Despite herself, despite believing she had made peace with her past, feeling Nicole’s strong, soft arms around her, never pausing comforting circles on her back, never putting even slightly more room between them, she felt her eyes pricking. She found herself curling into Nicole’s chest, breathing in her scent, feeling Nicole envelope her, giving her a sense of safety.

“I’m sorry.” Waverly said, wiping her eyes.

“Hey,” Nicole chastised lightly, bringing a finger under Waverly’s chin and tilted her head. “Never apologize for what you feel.”

“Why aren’t you running away?” Waverly blurted. Nicole furrowed her brows and tilted her head she looked at her questioningly. The act looked so adorably innocent compared to the usual reactions she had received over her past. “Most people want nothing to do with us. We’re the Earp’s.”

“Well, _those_ people don’t know what they’re missing.” Nicole said easily, grin on her face. Waverly rolled her eyes but smiled anyway.

“You’re something else, Nicole Haught.” Waverly said, her heart felt as though it swelled up in size and tears threatened to spill again.

“And you, Waverly Earp, must be getting cold, we should start heading back,” Nicole carefully extracted herself from Waverly, who let out a small whine at the movement. Nicole simply chuckled and gave her a small grin. “There’s no way you’re not even a little cold.”

“Only a little…” Waverly replied, the shivering saying otherwise. Nicole stood up and reached her hands out and Waverly readily accepted. Nicole pulled her up to her feet, though Waverly felt her footing slip slightly on the fresh powdered snow. She felt Nicole’s hand on her lower back, steadying her. “Thank you.” Waverly said softly, not sure how much of her red cheeks was from the cold or Nicole.

“No problem.” Nicole smiled, and the two walked back into the homestead, Waverly holding on to the taller woman’s arm. It felt warm and natural and Waverly was happy to feel Nicole under her touch, and it wasn’t until she saw Chrissy peeking over the back of the couch, giving Waverly a knowing look, that she tore her hands from Nicole’s arm.

Chrissy raised an eyebrow and turned around in the couch, digging out her phone, swaying as she immediately unlocked it. It wasn’t long until she felt her own phone vibrate and she pulled it out to see a message from the blonde.

_I see you and Officer Haught over there!!!! ;) – Chrissy_

Waverly rolled her eyes, looking at her friend, who was already giggling to her phone.

_We’re **just** friends, Chris! – Waverly_

_I wanna hear the deets later – Chrissy_

Waverly rolled her eyes as she put her phone away, deciding to grab more alcohol, needing to catch up to everyone else.

* * *

It was a couple of hours later with multiple drinks in everyone’s system when the party had started to dwindle down. Wynonna and Doc had left to go to the barn, with Wynonna yelling out to not disturb their “fun”, Chrissy had gotten picked up by her boyfriend Perry, who stayed a while to catch up with Waverly, and it was currently just Nicole and Waverly left.

“Well, I should get going.” Nicole said, setting down her cup and standing up.

“Are you sure you’re okay to drive?” Waverly followed her close behind as Nicole made her way to her coat.

“Yeah,” Nicole smiled, pulling on her jacket. “I drank lots of water before so I’m good to go.” Waverly looked unsure, but slowly nodded.

“Okay, but let me know when you get home.” Waverly instructed anxiously and Nicole chuckled, shoving her hands in her jacket pockets. They were right in front of the door now, and Waverly felt a wave of disappointment at the realization that their time together was coming to an end.

“You know,” Nicole drawled out, stepping half a step closer to the brunette. “We should get each other’s numbers, would probably make it easier to talk, outside of Shorty’s, ya know.”

“Oh, shit-tickets,” Waverly replied wide-eyed for a second. “We haven’t done that yet, have we.” They both laughed as they quickly pulled out their phones, exchanging numbers.

Once they were exchanged Waverly couldn’t help but stare at the number, smiling to herself, a spark of joy setting off inside her. She glanced up at Nicole, who was smiling at her own phone. She glanced up at Waverly, large brown eyes shining.

“I had fun today, thank you for inviting me.” Nicole said softly, their proximity suddenly causing the room to heat up.

“I’m happy you came over.” Waverly replied, causing the redhead to smile at her.

“Well,” Nicole said with a nod. “Goodnight, Waverly.” Nicole paused and bit her lip, looking unsure. Waverly’s eyes flickered down at them, at those soft looking pink lips that looked nothing short of inviting. Nicole dipped her head forward, just slightly, and Waverly’s breath hitched. Despite herself, she found herself leaning in as well, reaching to meet Nicole halfway.

Just then the sound of the front door behind them opening caused them to pull apart. They both turned their heads to see Wynonna had stumbled through the door and was staring at them with surprise. She quickly recovered and had a light grin on her face.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to…” She made a vague gesture towards them, waving her hand out in their direction. “Interrupt anything.”

“N-no, you weren’t…” Waverly squeaked, face beet red.

“I was just leaving, actually.” Nicole said, smiling at Waverly and giving Wynonna a friendly goodbye. She watched as Nicole walked down the steps of the homestead, passing by Doc, who was standing and having a cigarette, and saying goodbye to him before getting in her car.

As Waverly watched Nicole drive away her thoughts began racing, replaying the last few moments in her mind. Of Nicole’s brown puppy dog eyes that seemed so bright as she looked at her, like Waverly was the stars themselves.

She couldn’t help but think back to those last seconds where they were only centimeters apart, air around them thick. She had seen Nicole lean forward and it was as if her body acted on its own.

Waverly brought a finger to her lips, heart racing at the thought that if they hadn’t been interrupted, and the distance had been closed…

She quickly shook her head. It was just her imagination, it had to be. Waverly was just more buzzed than she thought.

As if Nicole was _actually_ interested in her.

And there was no way Waverly felt the same. They were just friends. Nicole was new in town and a sweet person and just a friend. At least, that was what Waverly kept telling herself as she made her way up to her room.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole Haught is the new deputy in Purgatory and has the (mis)fortune of issuing her first ticket in the town to none other than Waverly Earp. It seems ever since then; the universe brings them together more and more and Waverly slowly starts to think that maybe that ticket was the best damn thing to happen to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh jeez, it's been a while, sorry about that! Also, this new season of Wynonna Earp is definitely getting me pumped and Kat did a phenomenal job, Nicole really shined throughout the episode.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy this chapter, life has been a little crazy for me and haven't had much motivation to write, but I'm getting back into the groove of things, so I hope you all enjoy this chapter, and stay safe everyone!

“So, tell me all about your new budding relationship with Officer Haught.” Chrissy said loudly, throwing Waverly a wink as she took a sip of her coffee.

Waverly rolled her eyes from her spot across the diner table. After she had received the text from Nicole notifying her of her safe arrival home, she had gone to bed, hoping sleep could clear her mind from confusing thoughts.

“There’s nothing to say,” Waverly replied, shoving her finished plate to the side to rest her arms on the table. “She’s actually really nice, and good company.”

“Oh, I’m sure she is,” The blonde said with a grin. “But this is the happiest I’ve seen you since you broke up with Champ, sooo,” Chrissy reached out and wrapped her hands around Waverly’s. “I’m happy.” Waverly could not help the smile on her face as she thought of the redhead.

“You know what? Me too.” Waverly grinned, and Chrissy gave her hands a firm squeeze. The sound of Chrissy’s phone caused her to pull her hands back and Waverly let her thoughts go back to Nicole as Chrissy answered the phone.

Waverly had to admit, Chrissy was right about one thing, ever since Nicole walked into her life, she had been happier. Nicole had filled a certain loneliness that was there long before she had broken up with Champ and brought a brightness to her otherwise dull life.

She certainly made the last hour or so of her shift much better.

“Alright, me and Waves will stop by with food, see you soon, Dad!” Chrissy’s voice snapped her back to reality and she glanced up at her friend.

“We’re doing what now?”

“You know Dad doesn’t eat right, _and_ he told me a certain officer is slaving away at her desk right now.” Chrissy had a glint in her eyes as she spoke, and Waverly groaned.

“Chrissy! No, I can’t just _bother_ her like that!” Waverly attempted to explain, but Chrissy waved her off with the flick of her wrist.

“It’ll be fine, now let’s go get these numbnuts some grub.”

* * *

Nicole sat at her desk, staring at the amount of paperwork placed precariously at the corner. She twirled her pen in her hand as she eyed the paperwork, vaguely hearing Lonnie answer the phone and the sound of slamming behind her.

“Goddamnit!” Nedley shouted and Nicole saw Lonnie inch farther across the service desk, chancing a hazardous glance into Nedley’s office, chuckling nervously into the phone. Nicole looked over her shoulder, the open door of his office allowing her to see the older man hitting the side of his monitor. “Damn computers breaking down, what’s the damn point of all this technology if it doesn’t even work…” He grumbled before leaning back in his chair, which seemed to groan and creak with the Sheriff himself.

“Hey, guys!” A chipper voice rang out in the room and everyone looked up to see Chrissy walking in with a brown bag, grease already darkening the bottom of it. Nicole glanced over Chrissy’s shoulder and saw Waverly trailing behind her, brown bag of her own.

Nicole found herself straightening up in her chair, hands shooting to her uniform collar to adjust it.

“Fear not everyone, Chrissy Nedley is here to save the day!” Chrissy shouted, causing Lonnie to shift over the service desk yet again as Waverly rolled her eyes. Chrissy strode past the all officer’s desks to Nedley’s office, where Nedley himself had already began standing up.

“Now, Chrissy, don’t come in here hollerin like that.” He began grumbling, Chrissy merely skipped over to the last of the distance to the door.

“Nuh-uh, you stay put,” She sang out as she closed the door behind her, effectively silencing the rest of the conversation. Nicole continued to watch the door for a few more seconds before turning back in her seat with a sigh.

“Hey.” A voice startled her, causing her knee to hit the bottom of her desk. Nicole’s eyes widened as the stack of papers and manilla folders teetered over the edge. Her hands shot out to salvage what she could, but most had been a lost cause, scattering to the floor.

“I’m so sorry!” Nicole looked up to see Waverly standing wide-eyed, clutching the bag impossibly closer. “Ugh, this is why I didn’t want to bother you, and now I messed up all your papers-”

“Waves,” Nicole interrupted the brunette’s rambling, reaching her hand out and placing it on her arm. “It’s okay, things happen and it was my fault. I shouldn’t have put it close to the edge, I should have been, ya know, working,” The redhead laughed, kneeling down to gather the papers. Waverly did the same, grabbing what she could, throwing the brown bag she had been carrying on Nicole’s desk.

“Still, I’m sorry,” Waverly said, Nicole only smiled and shrugged. Waverly eyed the amount of paper she had collected, placing it carefully at the center. “That’s a _lot_ of paper.”

“Yeah,” Nicole let out a heavy sigh, stacking her papers on top and dropping down on the chair. “The system crapped out on us earlier, so now we have to do everything by hand.” Nicole rubbed her eyes, much like Nedley had, as she thought back to that morning. She had come in, ready to do patrols, and the first hour or so had gone smoothly, until something happened to the systems.

She had been finishing up a report when every computer lagged before the inevitable crash, which led to paperwork piling on top of each other and Nedley’s mood turning sour.

“Ooh, that sucks balls,” Waverly winced, sitting on the edge of the desk. “But I got something that might help.”

“Oh?” Nicole laughed, grin tugging at her lips.

“Yeah,” Waverly replied cheerily, sliding farther onto Nicole’s desk, crossing her legs, swinging them back and forth. She reached for the brown bag and plucked it off the desk, holding it out to Nicole. “Hope you’re hungry.”

“Starving, actually,” Nicole graciously took the bag and opened it, closing her eyes as the scent wafted into her nose, mouth salivating and a soft groaning noise ripping out of her throat. “Thank you.” Nicole breathed out and opened her eyes, smiling at Waverly.

“If that’s going to be your reaction, I should bring you food more often.” Waverly laughed and Nicole looked down shyly.

“That would be wonderful,” Nicole muttered softly, she could feel the blush creeping up and didn’t dare to look up. She quickly cleared her throat and shook her head; it was best not to get worked up while at work. “Anyway, thanks for the food, Waves.” Nicole placed it onto her table, tucked into the corner, gazing longingly at it, wishing it were time for lunch.

The sound of Nedley’s door opening caused the two to jolt into action, Waverly jumped off the table as Nicole grabbed a solid stack of papers. Chrissy walked out and straight to Nicole’s desk, stopping in front and glancing between the two. She watched as Nicole’s eyes stayed glued to the papers, flipping through much too fast to be _actually_ reading anything, and Waverly stood awkwardly to the side, eyes glued to the floor.

Chrissy rolled her eyes at the two.

“Officer Haught!” Chrissy said cheerily, causing the redhead to look up and smile politely. “How’s Purgatory treating you?”

“Good, good,” Nicole nodded brightly, eyes flitting to Waverly’s for a split second. “Is, uh,” She looked back over her shoulder, at Nedley’s closed door. “Is the Sheriff feeling better?”

“Oh, he just needed food, he gets cranky when he’s hungry.” Chrissy said with a wave of her hand. Nicole nodded and soon an awkward silence enveloped the three, the only commotion being of the telephones, rustling papers, and distant chatter.

Rather noisy for a boring day at Purgatory Sheriff’s office, Waverly mused.

“Right, so,” Waverly announced loudly, grabbing Chrissy’s arm. “We’re gonna go, let you work, right, Chrissy?” Waverly began pulling her best friend away, who huffed and resisted slightly.

“Bye, Officer Haught!” Chrissy yelled over her shoulder, ignoring Waverly grumbling behind her. Nicole simply chuckled and waved them off, looking past Chrissy. Waverly glanced away from the blonde, towards Nicole and her expression immediately softened. Her lips tugged into a shy smile and Nicole released a sigh, eyes bright and lost in Waverly’s.

The brunette ducked her head, smiling never leaving her face as she pulled Chrissy out of the service desk area and out the door. Nicole’s eyes lingered at the now empty doorway, her body beginning to act on its own accord, and she found herself swiveling back and forth slightly in her chair.

It wasn’t until a deep, gruff, clearing of a throat caused her to startle out of her daze. Her body jerked to a still, poster rigid straight as she looked up at the direction of the noise. There stood Nedley, looking over her shoulder, mouth in a thin straight line of unmistakable disappointing, despite the beard.

“Officer Haught,” Nedley gruffed out. “I trust that your desk will be clear by the time you clock out.”

“Yes, sir.” Nicole said hastily, pulling her chair in and gripping the piece of paper in her hand with both hands now. She felt a heavy hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Nedley eyeing the bag of food at the corner of her desk. He looked at her and gave her shoulder a squeeze.

“Now, you make sure you thank Waverly for her hospitality.” Nicole blinked and slowly nodded.

“Of course, sir.” Nedley gave her one last smile before turning and walking back to his office. Nicole watched as he sat down at his desk and she looked back at the bag, smiling to herself one last time before straightening her shoulders and going back to work.

* * *

Waverly’s eyes kept glancing at the door as she wiped down the table, she had yelled for last call and Nicole had yet to walk through the front doors of Shorty’s.

“I swear to god, Waverly, if you look at that door one more time.” Wynonna said from her spot at the counter, glass in hand and rolled her eyes. Doc sat next to her; arm draped over her shoulders as he downed a shot glass.

“Oh, stop, I think its adorable,” Chrissy spoke from her own bar stool and turned to Perry sitting next to her. “Isn’t it?”

“Well, Officer Haught seems like a lovely person.” Doc shrugged and Wynonna instantly turned to look at him.

“Lovely, huh?” She remarked and Doc’s eyes widened.

“Why, Wynonna, you know I meant nothing of that sort of nature.” Wynonna hummed as she swiveled in her chair, hooking a finger in Doc’s belt loop and began using her other hand to run up and down his chest.

“Why don’t you remind me of how lovely _I_ am.” Wynonna spoke in a sultry voice, leaning into Doc, who simply grinned and wordlessly allowed the older Earp to pull him in. Waverly rolled her eyes and looked at Chrissy, who made a gagging noise and grabbed Perry’s hand.

“Aaaaaand we’re off, bye Waves!” Chrissy and Perry stood up, both saying their goodbyes.

“Oh!” Wynonna pulled back form Doc and looked at Waverly. “Waves! Let us use the apartment upstairs.”

“No! Absolutely not!” Waverly instantly snapped back, wide-eyed. “And hear you while cleaning up? Uh, no.”

“Boo.” Wynonna groaned. “Fine, I guess we’ll just go back to the homestead.” She stood up, stumbling out of her stool and Waverly instinctively reached out over the bar top, though Doc was quick to help right her. She glanced at him, giving him a knowing look.

“I will make sure she gets home safe.” Waverly nodded and watched them make their way out. Once gone, she looked around the bar, which was now empty. With a sigh she glanced at her phone, grabbing it, and unlocking it. She brought up her messages, easily finding Nicole’s, if the police siren emoji’s were any indicator.

_How’s the paperwork going? – Waverly_

She quickly hit the send button and watched as the message popped up, dinging to life with the noise it produced. She slowly set the phone down, eyes locked on the still lit screen. After a few seconds of no response she picked up her rag and made her way to lock the door.

As she made her way over the door, she placed her hand on the handle and was ready to turn the lock when she felt the doors slam open with enough force to jerk her backwards.

She stumbled, nearly falling over, as she looked up to see a drunken Champ Hardy at the door, his hands gripping the edge of the door to hold himself steady.

“Just in time,” He slurred, large grin in place and Waverly huffed as she crossed her arms. “Hey, babe.”

“We’re closed, Champ.” Waverly spoke through gritted teeth. Champ blinked and looked around, moving his body in an exaggerated manner before snorting.

“No, door’s open.” He stumbled forward, lopsided smile, arm reaching forward. Waverly took multiple steps back.

“I was about to lock it. _Leave_ , Champ, we’re closed.” Waverly barked and Champ stuttered drunkenly, scratching the back of his head nervously before shrugging. He walked forward again, stumbling down the small steps that dropped down to the rest of the room.

“I’m serious, Champ.”

“C’mon, Waves,” Champ laughed, smiling crookedly as he continued walking farther in the bar. “Let’s talk about this.”

“Champ, you… you..” Waverly began, shaking her head, hands on her elbows gripping tighter. She stood still, jaw clenched, as Champ made his way over. After many steps, and corrections to his path to Waverly, he stood in front of her.

“Yeah, babe?” He reached out, arm beginning to sloppily reach around her shoulder. Before he could make contact, she took a step back and kicked her foot out, landing squarely and harshly between his legs. Champ’s face scrunched up as he yelped in pain, dropping to the floor, hands gripping his privates.

Waverly immediately ran behind the bar counter and pulled out the worn, beloved shotgun Gus insisted on having at Shorty’s for protection. She immediately rounded the bar corner, grabbing her phone as she did so.

“Alright, asshole!” Waverly yelled, pointing the end of the barrel at Champ’s twitching form on the ground. “For the last time, we. Are. Not. Together.” Champ’s only response was a whimper, and she rolled her eyes as she unlocked her phone and dialed the now familiar number.

* * *

Nicole leaned back and stretched out her arms, feeling the tension in her body before she dropped them heavily, sinking in her chair. Finally, she had finally finished all the paperwork. She dragged herself to a standing position, despite wanting to close her eyes and sleep right then and there in her chair.

She placed her things back in their place and with one hand grabbed her jacket and her phone with the other. Just then, the sound of her ringtone blared through the mostly empty room, and she looked at the caller ID. With a smile, she brought the phone to her ear, mood lifting already.

“Hey, Waves, I’m about to-” She began, before being cut off.

“Officer Haught.” Waverly’s voice responded, tone sharp and barely under a shout.

“A-are you okay?” Nicole asked, feeling a pit form in her stomach. “Waverly, what’s wrong?”

“Oh, I’m fine, just here with a _jackass_ that just needs to be escorted out of my bar.” Waverly snapped angrily and Nicole felt her body sprint to the door before she could process her actions.

“Waverly, don’t do anything until I get there, do you understand me?” Nicole asked, attempting to wrestle her jacket on as she nearly sprinted out of the building. Waverly, for her part, ignored her, and Nicole could hear her yelling and berating someone.

“God, Champ, you’re so ridiculous and-” There was a pause. “ _No_ , not in a “good way”, just-just stay there before I make you regret coming into my bar even more!” The she continued, her voice sounding much closer to the phone and slightly quieter. “Anyway, I’ll see you soon, Officer Haught.” And with that she hung up the phone.

“Hey- Waverly!” Nicole yelled into the phone a few seconds too late. She let out a sigh and glanced at it before placing it into her pocket and began speeding to Shorty’s, thankful that it wasn’t far at all from the Sheriff’s office.

With one hand gripping the steering wheel and the other on her cruiser radio, she quickly called for another office for backup. She waited with bated breath until one of the few officers on shift this late responded, and she let out a deep sigh of relief.

By the time she had arrived, the other officer was already parked and waiting, and she jumped out of the car. She had barely waited for the other officer to follow her before slamming through the front door, hand on holster.

“Oh, Nicole!” The red head in question paused as she took in the scene in front of her. There stood Waverly, holding a _shotgun_ towards Champ, who sat on the floor, holding his crotch and looking dejected. Every so often he shifted, wincing in pain as he did so.

“What… is going on?” Nicole asked.

“None of ya business!” Champ drunkenly yelled from the floor, words slurring into each other.

“Champ, shut up,” Waverly snapped. “He came in drunk and refused to leave.” Nicole sighed and rubbed her temple. She looked at the officer with her and motioned towards Champ.

“Harrison, get him in the back and drop him off in the tank.” The officer nodded and made his way to Champ. As soon as the officer was in grabbing distance, Champ attempted to shift away.

“Nah, I’m good,” He slurred. “I-”

“Champ I swear to god, shut up and just spend the night in jail. Again.” Waverly groaned and Champ sulked, being pulled up and walked out of the bar, needing support the entire time.

Nicole watched until the door closed completely before looking back at Waverly, at the shotgun in her hands. Waverly simply sighed as she looked at the ground, shotgun still aimed at the spot Champ was in, though now in loose hands.

“We’re broken up and I _still_ have to make sure he doesn’t do anything dumb.” She said sadly. Nicole instantly wanted to comfort the other woman but knew she hadn’t clocked out yet and _was_ responding to a call, the other woman _was_ armed.

“Waverly… I need you to put down the shotgun.” Waverly followed Nicole’s gaze and immediately jumped slightly.

“Oh!” She hastily dropped it onto the bar top counter and took multiple steps back. “We have a license for that, I swear! A-and it wasn’t actually loaded, you can even check,” Waverly replied hastily, hands nervously clasped in front of her. There was a beat of silence before she spoke up again. “Officer… Nicole- er, Officer Nicole- oh fudgeballs,” Waverly closed her mouth, face now a deep red. “I’m gonna shut up now.”

Nicole’s lips twitched, one-sided dimple threatening to come out. Instead, she kept a steely expression and walked to where the shotgun now laid abandoned. She lifted it in her arms and one quick glance in the chamber showed that Waverly had been telling the truth.

“I just wanted to scare him, I’d never shoot anyone…” Waverly mumbled from her spot. Nicole set the shotgun down and slowly walked up to the brunette, hands on her utility belt. She stopped directly in front of her, her long pause causing the shorter woman to fidget more and look down at her feet shyly. Nicole sighed and placed a gentle head on her shoulders, ducking her head slightly.

“Are you okay?” The redhead asked, and Waverly peeked up at her, biting her lip nervously.

“Am I in trouble?” Waverly asked hesitantly and Nicole shook her head.

“No, Waverly, you’re not,” Nicole replied and watched as relief washed over her. “But you do need to tell me what happened.” Waverly nodded and led her to the counter, where Nicole had taken out a notepad.

It wasn’t a very long recounting of events, and only cemented Nicole’s thought that Champ was an idiot and wondered what the incredibly smart woman in front of her saw in him. Waverly insisted that she just wanted the night to be over and did not want to press charges. Once she was satisfied with Waverly’s statement and assessment of the situation, she closed her notepad and leaned back in the stool, closing her eyes for a few moments

“Are you okay?” Nicole opened her eyes and saw Waverly suddenly much closer, eyes searching her face as she reached out and placed a hand on her arm.

“Just tired,” Nicole placed her hand over Waverly’s, giving it a small squeeze. “But you’re good, he didn’t do anything to harm you, just being disorderly and he’ll sleep it off at the station.”

“I’m sorry,” Waverly said suddenly, and at Nicole’s confused look she sighed and continued. “You’re out so late on your shift because of me, I could have dealt with Champ by myself, but I just thought to call you because-” She paused and looked away. “I just felt- I mean- _it_ just felt safer.”

“Woah, hey,” Nicole said, trying to ignore the way her heart sped up at the words. “I’m happy to help, if you need me, don’t hesitate to ask. Remember,” Nicole gave Waverly a tired, cheeky grin. “Justice never sleeps.” Waverly chuckled and shook her head.

“Justice needs to clock out and rest, though,” Nicole simply nodded in agreement and stood up, allowing Waverly to walk her to the front door. “Are you going to be okay getting home?” Nicole nodded again, the tiredness slowly sucking away her ability to function properly.

God, she hated paperwork.

Waverly looked doubtful, eyeing the bags under the redhead’s eyes. She knew how taxing the late hours could be, she had seen all the times Nedley had all but dragged himself to his home, sometimes it had gotten so bad Chrissy had picked him up, despite his sleepy grumbles, and drove him home herself. She suddenly perked up and reached out, placing a hand on Nicole’s arm.

“Do you want to spend the night here, upstairs? I mean, it’s closer than the station, and I’ll be here with you,” Her eyes widened. “I-I mean, not _with_ you, with you, it’s a whole apartment upstairs, got a bedroom and couch. I just… know… that we’re both… tired.” She finished with a shrug and Nicole simply stared for a few seconds.

“… Okay.” Nicole croaked out and Waverly’s eyes snapped up to her.

“Okay, I’ll, uh, just come up to the right of the building and I’ll let you in.”

“Alright, I’ll see you soon.” Nicole nodded, and she watched as the taller woman walked to her cruiser, got in, and drove off. Waverly stayed at the doorway, watching the cruiser lights get smaller. She finally closed the door, making sure to lock it, before bounding to the back of the bar, to the stairs that led to the upstairs. She felt a surge of energy return to her body, taking the steps two at a time, nerves buzzing at the prospect of Nicole spending the night.

God, what was wrong with her?

She walked through the door and paused as she looked around the living room, realizing it had been some time since she had been in the apartment and it felt… different.

Everything was the same, it certainly looked neater than the homestead, without the rustic atmosphere, instead with simple but sleek furniture and books littering the surfaces beyond her bookshelf. She could see the cute cushions and plushies and trinkets placed particularly in their spots, popping out to the naked eye, and coming across as an organized mess.

It was everything that was Waverly, and nothing that was Wynonna.

And somehow, it felt lonelier and emptier than she thought it would. She shook the feelings off and began tidying the space up, which essentially just meant relocating books and papers. She wasn’t sure how long it was that she was frantically pacing back and forth, repeating the same motions when she heard her phone go off. She was already halfway down the stairs before she pulled it out, hand on doorknob as she read Nicole’s text.

She opened it to reveal a very tired Nicole, leaning against the doorframe, half asleep. The taller woman jerked upright and smiled at Waverly.

“Are you sure this is okay? I could go home right now?” Nicole asked again, voice quiet and rough as she forced the words that wanted to stay trapped in her throat.

“Yes, I’m sure, Nicole, you’re exhausted, c’mon.” Without thinking, she reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling her in. As they made their way up the stairs, Nicole simply stared at their joined hands. She wanted to pull her hand away, insist she was fine, but her limbs felt heavy and every second awake made it more exhausting to speak.

Instead, she memorized how slim Waverly’s hand was, how soft it was, how comfortable their hands fit together. So much so that when they nearly reached the top, her foot caught on a step and she felt herself fall forward, crashing harshly on the steps, with only her arm still held up by Waverly.

“Oh my god, Nicole!” Waverly gasped, and Nicole simply groaned, feeling the sting of the edge of the step against her cheek. She immediately felt hands brush her hair out of her face and her hand was let go, only to feel soft hands on both sides of her face. Under the tiredness, Nicole felt her face heat up in embarrassment as Waverly tilted it up, giving her a clear look of her face.

“Are you okay?” Waverly frantically asked, tilting Nicole’s face in different directions, lightly brushing her cheeks with her thumb.

 _Fuck, someone kill me now._ Nicole grunted and attempted to turn her head away, however Waverly’s grip seemed to be impossibly strong out of the blue. When she failed to subtly pry Waverly’s hands away, she opted to push herself off the steps. She felt Waverly’s hands slide away from her face and trail down her arms as she rose to her feet, giving her body slight shivers.

“Shit, sorry, Waves, guess I’m more tired than I thought.” Nicole laughed and Waverly frowned, wasting no time in getting them up the stairs. Once they entered the living room Waverly practically pushed Nicole onto the couch before running to her room to grab a blanket. As Nicole took off her jacket she looked around, chuckling softly at how the room looked like how she imagined it would. She let out a yawn and leaned her head back, heavy eyelids closing shut.

_Just a few seconds._

* * *

“Aha!” Waverly yelled when she finally managed to pull one of the many spare blankets form her closet without toppling everything on top of it over. She triumphally turned on her heels and walked back into the living room. “Okay, so-”

She paused at the sight of Nicole, head thrown back, passed out completely. Waverly let out a quiet breathy laugh and put the blanket on the coffee table. She crept forward until she was able to see Nicole’s sleepy face, a warm smile made its way to Waverly’s face.

She reached out, cupping Nicole’s cheek, feeling the soft skin. Nicole immediately turned into the touch in her sleep, mumbling incoherently, causing Waverly to giggle at the adorable action. She moved her thumb back and forth where her dimples would pop out and tilted her head as she gazed at the moment of peacefulness on the officer’s face.

“Hmm… Waves…” Waverly tore her hand away with a slight yelp and waited for Nicole to open her eyes, however the officer stayed asleep, and let out a sigh of relief. She shook her head and brought a hand around Nicole’s neck, moving her upper body to lay on the couch.

Nicole never even stirred, even as her arm hung from the couch, laying limply on the floor. That was when Waverly noticed Nicole still wore her uniform, however she was without her utility belt. She immediately felt bad for not attempting to wake her up, though a part of her figured Nicole wouldn’t have even budged. She reached down and unbuttoned her uniform sleeve, hoping to bring some comfort to Nicole in her sleep.

She played with the sleeve slightly, taking that moment to be close to the other woman, to feel her presence next to her. Her finger lightly gazed the skin of her wrist, and Waverly could feel its softness. She glanced up at Nicole’s sleeping face and smiled before standing up and moving her legs on the couch. Taking a step back, the cursed herself for having a small, two person couch, as Nicole’s tall lanky frame seemed to spill out, her lower legs beginning to peek out past the couch. She could only hope the redhead was comfortable as she covered her with the blanket, making sure to tuck the edges in around her.

“Sleep tight, Nicole.” Waverly whispered and after a brief hesitation, leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on the sleeping redhead’s cheeks.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole Haught is the new deputy in Purgatory and has the (mis)fortune of issuing her first ticket in the town to none other than Waverly Earp. It seems ever since then; the universe brings them together more and more and Waverly slowly starts to think that maybe that ticket was the best damn thing to happen to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all like this next chapter, I tried to get it out a little faster than I normally would. I hope you all enjoy it!

Waverly stirred in her sleep. She mumbled as she curled tighter into herself, feeling the weight of her multiple blankets push her down into the soft mattress. Eyes still closed, she let out a sigh and settled back into the bed, hearing nothing but the constant background noise of her bedroom.

Background noise and… something else.

Her brows wrinkled as she tuned her ears to the noise. There was a small noise, low and… pained. She thought she had imagined it, until there was another noise, a low cry of incoherent, barely audible mumble that was still able to cut through the air.

Waverly sat up and looked at the closed door, the blanket of confusion still surrounding her. She heard a shuffling and another strangled cry as the recollection of the last few hours came back to her and she let out a gasp.

She shot out of bed as quietly as she could, glancing at the clock on her nightstand. The large square numbers blinked back at her, indicating it was only four in the morning, merely a few hours since they both had passed out.

She slowly crept open the door, and immediately looked to the couch, where Nicole still lay. Even in the dark, she could see the covers were kicked off, and Nicole was turned on her side, back facing her.

As she got closer, she could see Nicole shaking slightly, every so often her body spasmed with a jerk. An arm had found its way around her shoulders, as if loosely holding herself in her sweet.

“Nicole?” Waverly whispered, now hovering above her. She could see sweat on the officer’s face, gone was the peaceful expression she had fallen asleep with. Nicole’s face was twisted in pain, eyes squeezed shut, and when another mumbled cry escaped her lips, Waverly hesitantly reached out. She gently shook her shoulder, feeling the tense muscles underneath. “Nicole.” Waverly tried again and shook her slightly harder.

She was going to call out a third time, but Nicole’s eyes shot open and she surged forward, the action causing Waverly to jerk backwards with enough force to feel the coffee table dig into her backside.

Nicole sat up, panting and sweating, the braid that had kept most of her hair pulled away now nearly gone, with her fiery red hair spilling out and hanging low. Chest heaving up and down, she gripped the back of the couch with one hand, the other halfway in the air, balled into a fist.

Just as quickly as Waverly fell back, she shot forward again. She placed a hand on Nicole’s back, the taller woman jumped at the action, wild eyes searching the room before finally landing on Waverly.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Waverly tried to offer encouragingly. “You’re okay, you’re safe here, Nicole.” She placed more pressure on Nicole’s back now, rubbing comforting circles.

“W-Waverly? Wha-” She started, then stopped and looked around the room, confusion clear on her face. Taking in a deep breath, she closed her eyes and brought her head down and hands up to it, gripping her hair, and brought her knees up. Waverly could still see her visibly shaking and simply continued to rub her back.

If she was being honest, she wasn’t sure what else to do. She didn’t want to overstep her boundaries, yet still felt the pull to bring Nicole close and comfort her. She stayed put, wordlessly continuing her comforting motion before getting up and getting a glass of water.

When she came back, Nicole was slowly uncurling herself, bringing shaky legs back down onto the floor. Waverly silently held out the glass of water, and Nicole wordlessly grabbed it, offering a shaky smile that came off as more of a grimace.

Waverly sat tentatively next to her, hands fiddling in her lap as Nicole took sips of water. Nicole placed the still half-filled cup of water on the coffee table and took another shaky breath.

“I’m sorry I woke you.” Nicole finally said, voice tight and muscles still tense. Nicole refused to look at her, and Waverly could see her jaw muscles working.

“No, it’s okay,” Waverly said softly, too afraid to speak too loud over the now thick atmosphere. “Do… do you need anything? Or talk about it, or-”

“Actually,” Nicole stood up suddenly and finally turned her head to look at Waverly, but her eyes didn’t quite meet hers. “I-I should go, um, thank you, for letting me stay.” Nicole quickly grabbed her jacket and Waverly stood up in an instance.

“A-are you sure?” She asked, following as Nicole hastily began making her way to the door she entered from.

“Yeah, I’ll, uh, I’ll see you later.” Nicole was now at the door, fumbling with the lock. Twisting the knob, turning the locks more than necessary, she grunted as the door refused to give in to each pull.

“Here, let me just-” Waverly reached out to the door.

“I got it!” Nicole snapped, voice cutting through the air and Waverly’s chest. They both stilled, feeling the air somehow thicken more and suffocate them. “I…” Nicole croaked out, looking down shamefully. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“I-it’s okay.” Waverly mumbled, unlocking the door now that Nicole had moved her hand away. It opened with a click, and the tall red head shimmied through the ever-growing opening in an instant.

“Thanks, and… sorry.” Nicole mumbled back and with that she was completely out of sight. Gone, and Waverly didn’t budge, only hearing haste footsteps growing smaller and smaller until she heard the door to the outside being fumbled then opened, closing with a solid thud.

Nothing but the sound of the clock’s ticking over-head kept her company as she reeled over the sudden chain of events. Slowly, she finally closed her door, thinking over Nicole’s shift in demeaner, at her snap towards the younger woman.

On the trek back into the living room, she stopped at the sight of the blanket on the floor. Picking it up, she felt the coldness of the floor that had seeped its way onto it. With a sigh she sank onto the couch, holding the blanket to her chest.

She thought about texting Nicole, asking if she was okay, but after such a harsh response, uncertainty filled her. She simply laid down, still feeling some of the warmth left by Nicole, sinking into it.

And hoping, praying, she didn’t somehow do something wrong.

She hadn’t realized she had fallen asleep on the couch until she woke up late into the morning, nearly nearing the afternoon, her phone blaring loudly from where she had left it in her bedroom. She groggily stood up, letting the blanket drop to the floor, before making her way to the source of the noise.

“Hello?” Waverly asked as she placed the phone to her ear, not bothering to check the caller ID.

“Waverly Earp.” Gus’s voice boomed through, tight and all business and Waverly knew she was in trouble.

“Gus? Uh, hey, what-” But she was cut off.

“Oh no girly,” Gus began. “Care to tell me why Wynonna nearly knocked my door down this morning, going on about how you could have been kidnapped because you weren’t at the homestead last night?” Waverly rolled her eyes at that.

“Oh, c’mon, I was just at the apartment above Shorty’s, nothing serious happened.” Waverly easily replied, though she felt the corner of her lip tug into a smile, a warm sensation settling in the pit of her stomach at Wynonna’s well intended, if unnecessary, over-reaction.

“Oh, you’re above Shorty’s? Then you’ll finally be able to start your shift that started an hour ago.” Waverly’s eyes widened and she pulled her phone away for a split second before pressing the phone to her ear again.

“Oh, shitballs, I’m so sorry Gus, I’m coming down right now.” She hung up before changing back into her uniform, nearly tripping over her clothes in the process, and throwing the door open. As she made her way downstairs, she could already hear the strikes of the pool sticks hitting its targets, the booming voices of the late morning regulars, and the music from the old jukebox.

She burst through the door, ignoring the looks of the patrons as she made a beeline to the bar. Guys looked over at her with a raised eyebrow as she stood at her spot behind the bar, wiping the current spills on the dark wood.

“I’m _so_ sorry, Gus.” She apologized again.

“Are you alright, honey? You’re never late.” Gus asked in a concerned voice. Waverly turned slightly, unable to look her aunt in the eye.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” She laughed, already moving to a patron. Gus simply hummed in response but thankfully didn’t say anything else. The rest of her shift had been uneventful, which led her to spend most of her time thinking about the morning with Nicole.

She snuck texts to the officer throughout her shift, checking more often than she would admit to anyone. After rechecking each unanswered response her face fell and shoulders slumped, by the end of her shift she felt her body drop over the bar.

She clocked out and dragged herself to her car, closing the door and sinking in her seat. She let out a long sigh and glanced at her phone despite knowing what she was looking for wasn’t there.

Her fear that she had unknowingly done something wrong only grew, and she bit her lip anxiously. It gnawed at her, poked and prodded as she sat contemplating in her car. As she scrolled through her phone, trying to find someone that, even if she couldn’t voice her frustration, could at least distract her. Could help her shove Nicole from the forefront of her mind to the back, stop her from obsessing and analyzing.

She stumbled upon Chrissy’s name and paused. If anyone could help her understand, it would be the daughter of the Sheriff, right?

She shook her head, no, she couldn’t bother Chrissy with her problems. In the back of her mind she knew how selfish she was being, calling upon someone because _she_ was inconvenienced, because _she_ was thinking too hard on a situation that probably meant nothing. She could hear Champ’s voice in the back of her head, hearing the scoff and roll of his eyes as she evaluated something to the minute detail.

_Just drop it, Waves. It’s not that big of a deal, anyway._

_Don’t overthink too hard._

Waverly sighed and lowered her eyes, feeling her body droop even more. Just as she was about to place her phone back into her purse, it seemed the universe was listening to her. Her screen changed to the photo of Chrissy she had saved, and she jumped in her seat, phone leaping out of her hand and falling under the seat.

“Oh, for the love of-” She muttered as she reached underneath, blindly grasping for her device. By the time she had located it, the ringing had stopped and was replaced by a text.

_If you’re not busy, wanna go shopping? – Chrissy_

Waverly stared at it before laughing lightly.

She was convinced that Chrissy had a sixth sense, as she had no other explanation as to _how_ her friend seemed to always know when Waverly had something on her mind.

* * *

Nicole simply stared at the coffee maker in front of her, mind blank and body feeling as though it was going to collapse in on itself in any second. She had tried to go back to sleep, but her body refused to acknowledge her wish, still tingling and prickling with the aftermath of her nightmare.

She brought her hand up and rubbed her eyes with a groan as she cursed at herself, remembering that morning. Waverly had looked at her with such worry, brows creased and constant comforting hand.

She had stayed by Nicole’s side as the redhead gasped for air and clothes clung to her sweat coated body, grasping at the couch as she tried to ground herself in reality, in Waverly’s soft couch, her warm touch, her soothing voice…

The sound of the coffee maker dinging startled her out of her thoughts, and she let out a sigh as she took a few heavy steps forward.

 _I have to apologize to her._ Nicole thought to herself as she began pouring the coffee into her mug. She internally winced as she remembered her reaction, and how she subsequently had rudely run off the property.

She picked up her mug and turned around, mind still stuck on her humiliating morning, when she found herself face to face with another body. She jerked back, coffee sloshing over the rim and burning her hand.

“Shit.” She muttered, slamming the mug on the counter-top before running to the breakroom sink, running the cold water over it.

“I’m so sorry!” She looked towards the voice she didn’t recognize and saw another man around her age with a dark complexion and hair, dressed in jeans, a closed flannel, and an open red sweater over it. She squinted at the badge he was wearing, noting it stated Purgatory PD tech department.

“Oh, crap,” He muttered to himself, eyes wide. “I just burned an officer’s hand off…” Nicole tilted her head, watching as he looked around frantically, for what, she wasn’t sure.

“I’m fine,” Nicole said, bringing out her hand from the water and holding it up. “See?” It was red, but otherwise unscathed. The man winced as he looked at it.

“Please don’t arrest me!” He begged, hands clasped in front of him nervously and Nicole’s eyes widened as he bowed dramatically.

“Uh,” Nicole herself looked around, not sure what to think… or _do_. She scratched her head after some moments when no one came to her rescue. At one point she was sure she saw Lonnie pass by the doorway and pause, quirking an eyebrow at the scene before scurrying back to whatever he was going.

“I’m sorry, who are you?” Nicole finally asked and the man snapped up, a wide, nervous smile on his face.

Oh, I’m Jeremy Chetri, it’s nice to meet you!” Jeremy held out his hand and Nicole took it, giving it a firm shake. “And, uh, I’m sorry about your hand.”

“It’s fine, it’s uh,” Nicole chuckled and shrugged. “What a first meeting.” Jeremy’s shoulders relaxed a little bit at that and he laughed lightly as well.

“I’m new and working at your tech department.” He explained and Nicole nodded. “Well, I’ll let you get back to work, you know where to find me.”

With that, he was gone and Nicole thought he reminded her of Waverly slightly, with his odd and seemingly bright personality. She shook her head and walked back to the coffee maker, pouring herself another much needed help.

She made her way to her desk and got herself situated when she noticed another new face. A muscular man a few desks down, whose uniform seemed to barely fit in his large arms. She blinked as she raised her mug, taking a sip of her coffee, the unexpected bitterness making her wince. She huffed as she set down her mug, realizing she forgot to add her cream, the action making the man look up. She averted eyes, trying to find something to make it look like she hadn’t been staring. It seemed to be in vain, however, when she heard him from his chair, followed by heavy, even footsteps to her desk.

“Hello,” A deep, even voice rang out and she looked up to see him in front of her, hands clasped behind his back, stony expression on his face. “Nice to meet you, my name is Xavier Dolls.” He held out his hand, and for a second time that day, Nicole found herself standing up and shaking hands.

“Hey, Nicole Haught, nice to meet you.” She saw the man, Xavier, raise and eyebrow and the smallest hint of a smirk on his face.

“By the way, just Dolls is fine, no one really uses my first name.” Dolls explained evenly and Nicole nodded.

“Good to know. Well, Dolls, if you need anything don’t hesitate to ask.” Dolls nodded.

“Will do, thanks.” And he walked back to his desk, and Nicole knew today was going to be an exciting, if odd, day.

* * *

Nicole hadn’t seen Jeremy for the rest of the day, which was expected, and when she left and came back from patrol, she saw Dolls at his desk doing paperwork. She felt a pang of sympathy for him, remembering how difficult it was to do nothing but the boring and tedious tasks of police work, of feeling the fire that she had started with and been ready to tackle any situation she trained for dwindle with each piece of paper. She was on her way back to her desk when Nedley called her to his office.

“I see you met our new deputy and IT guy.” He spoke, hands clasped over his desk as Nicole stood in front, spine straight and at attention.

“Yes, sir.” She replied.

“I want you to show Deputy Dolls the ropes.” At that, she blanched, staring at him wide-eyed.

“Sir, I-” She started, but cut herself off. Nicole thought of herself as still new, no where near experienced enough to lead others, she just got off paper duty herself. Nedley seemed to notice and stood up, walking around his desk to put a hand on Nicole’s shoulder.

Nicole started to find the weight of his hand familiar and… comforting, in a way.

“Nicole,” He began. “You got a good head on your shoulders. You’ll be a good leader, I know you will,” He removed his hand and moved back to his desk. “Anyway, we’re short staffed, and our technology problems are constant. Dolls will be on desk duty for a while, and you’ll still be out in the field with and without me, but when Dolls is ready, you’ll show him the ropes out there. Besides, you need someone good to watch your back when I can’t. You’re dismissed, Sheriff’s Deputy Haught.”

Nicole nodded and walked out of his office. Once outside and the door closed, she paused and looked behind her, at the large letters standing out against the mosaic window. She stared at it for a few moments before shaking her head and walking back to her desk, Nedley’s words bouncing in her head.

She considered herself capable- no, _more_ than capable, and was able to stand her own ground, but capable enough to lead others?

Just the thought of failing the Sheriff, and, worse, leading her charge astray, perhaps hindering their career all together, made her heart rate pick up.

She glanced at Dolls, hunched over dutifully at his desk, and back at Nedley’s door. She sat upright as she looked down at the surface of her desk, nodding to herself.

Nedley trusted her, had given her words of encouragement more than once, and Nicole wasn’t about to let the older man down.

She refused to.

She had worked the rest of her shift through a new sense of determination, throwing herself into her patrols and calls more than usual.

And if she noticed Nedley peeking out of his office to give her a subtle nod or half smile, she wouldn’t dwell much on it.

And if she poured herself well beyond a healthy amount of coffee, she certainly wasn’t going to dwell on _that_.

By the time she began clocking out, she saw Dolls rising from his desk and collecting his things. She quickly walked over to him with a smile before he got too far away.

“Hey, Dolls,” He paused mid-walk and turned around, facing her completely with the same stony face. “I know you might be tired but do you wanna get some drinks? Meet the locals, relax a little?” Dolls paused before shrugging with a slight smile on his face.

“Sure, Haught, lets meet some locals.”

“Great,” Nicole replied, then remembered the other new hire, sparing a glance at her hand. “Hey, you mind if Jeremy- the new IT guy- comes? Today’s his first day too.”

“Sounds good, he’s that… interesting guy, right?” Nicole raised an eyebrow at him.

“Uh, I guess, I mean, I met him by running into him while holding coffee.”

“Oh, I met him the same way, minus the coffee. Hope it didn’t spill.” Nicole’s face seemed to tell Dolls everything if the chuckle was anything to go by.

“Well, lets find the guy.” Nicole nodded and made their way to where the tech department lay hidden, tucked into a dark dusty corner. She could see the light stretching out undeath the door, illuminating the otherwise too dim hallway. After a quick knock, she heard rustling behind it before it swung open and Jeremy appeared on the other side.

“Oh, hey! What’s up guys, computer need fixing?”

“Actually, we wanted to ask if you wanted to get drinks with us.” Nicole replied with a shrug and smile.

“Huh. Sounds neat, sure,” Jeremy smiled. “I was actually about to close up shop, so just give me a sec.” Jeremy ducked back into the room and Nicole glanced at Dolls as they heard hast rustling from the other side of the door. The light disappeared and opened the door again.

“Alrighty. Where we going?”

* * *

Nicole led them through the doors of Shorty’s, finding the bar surprisingly packed that night. She instantly glanced toward the bar, finding it lacking a specific brunette, and sighed. For the smallest of moments, she allowed herself to feel the disappointment sink itself to the pit of her stomach.

And perhaps a sliver of relief.

She shook her head and led them to a booth, she supposed she was going to have to tackle the Waverly situation another day. Another, more well rested day.

After some small talk, Nicole offered to grab everyone’s drinks and made her way to the bar. She ordered the three drinks and gazed down at the hardwood, deciding to close her eyes for a few brief moments. The heaviness of her eyelids lulled her body to sway just slightly and she snapped her eyes open and shook her head. A solid clink alerted her to the drinks, and she smiled appreciatively at the bartender.

“Nicole?” Nicole froze and slowly spun around in her spot, only to see Chrissy and Waverly, the latter of who wasn’t wearing her Shorty’s uniform. Nicole smiled nervously and placed her hands in her pockets, bringing her shoulders up to her ears in some sort of exaggerated greeting of a shrug.

“Oh, hey, Chrissy,” Nicole looked at Waverly and looked down shamefully, unable to meet her eyes. “Waverly.” Waverly didn’t respond and Nicole was afraid to look up to see her expression.

“Right, uh,” Chrissy spoke for both. “Hey, those for your table?” Nicole frowned and looked up. “With that other cop and guy, right?”

“How’d you-?”

“Great!” Chrissy cut her off, darting forward and quickly pushing all three cups against each other, picking them up with an expertise that made Nicole wonder if she ever worked at Shorty’s as well. “I’ll just bring these over for you, you guys have fun.” Chrissy left with a large smile on her face, giving Waverly a pointed look as she passed her, ignoring Nicole’s half-hearted attempts of protests.

Nicole looked at Waverly, who was staring at the floor, pulling at the edge of the sleeve of her sweater. Nicole rubbed the back of her neck guiltily.

“Are you…” Waverly spoke up, eyes still on the sticky floor beneath them. “Are you feeling better?”

“Oh, y-yeah, thanks…” Nicole mumbled, and Waverly nodded, though the answer didn’t seem to placate her. The redhead didn’t know what it was, maybe her sleep deprived self, or the sight of Waverly looking gloomy despite the surrounding upbeat atmosphere, but she let out a laugh that startled both of them.

“Can I be honest?” She asked and Waverly hesitantly nodded. “I feel exhausted, but thank you for asking, really, and,” Nicole hesitantly reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. “And I’m sorry. For running off like that. It was rude of me.”

“No, Nicole,” Waverly instantly straightened up and grabbed Nicole’s hand on her shoulder, holding it in front of her and placing her other hand on top, effectively trapping it between both of hers. “I’m sorry if I did anything wrong.”

“You didn’t,” Nicole rushed out, already feeling sick at the thought of Waverly feeling bad on her account. “I just…” She paused and swallowed harshly. The brunette seemed to notice, and Nicole felt the shorter woman shift her hand, allowing her to use both thumbs to rub the smallest circles on the back of Nicole’s hand. “I get nightmares, sometimes. A-actually a lot of times. And I was embarrassed.”

“You have nothing to be embarrassed about,” Waverly said softly, but firmly. “You’re the bravest person I know,” She reached up with one hand and felt the fabric of Nicole’s uniform collar between her fingers, gazing at it intently, before running her fingers down her chest to the badge on her chest. “I think this uniform can attest to that, Officer Haught.” Waverly smiled and Nicole looked down at the smaller, slim fingers caressing the metal, feeling every groove and corner.

“I’m really sorry.” Nicole whispered. Waverly shook her head.

“Me too.” Nicole chuckled lightly.

“How about we both agree to stop apologizing to each other, sound good?” Nicole was rewarded by Waverly laughing and looking up at her, eyes crinkling and unconsciously moving closer to the taller woman.

“Sounds great.” Waverly agreed, and Nicole gave her a large, dimpled grin in return. They stood there for some time, staring at each other and basking in each other’s presence. Waverly’s gaze shifted back to her badge, running her fingers along the edges, pressing against the grooves again.

“And, uh,” Waverly hesitated. “If you ever want to talk about these nightmares… I’m here.” Nicole closed her eyes and took a deep breath, a subtle scent of cherry, ink, and paper wafted to her. When she opened her eyes, Waverly looked nervous, biting her lip, an action Nicole picked up on.

“I-I can’t. Not now,” Nicole whispered, before clearing her throat and speaking slightly louder, though her voice shook just the same. “But maybe one day I can.” And perhaps she could. Maybe she could tell Waverly about the suffocating heat, the horrible screams, the gut-wrenching memories that haunted her at night.

She shuddered now just thinking about it.

Waverly nodded and finally looked up again, giving Nicole a comforting smile. Nicole smiled back and glanced up at across the room, over Waverly’s head at the forgotten booth, to see Chrissy chatting adamantly with Jeremy and Dolls. She chuckled and Waverly turned to follow her gaze, quickly turning around with an exasperated sigh.

“I’m sorry about Chrissy.” Waverly said, but she didn’t lose her smile, nor did her voice have any malice.

“Don’t be, I brought those two here to meet the locals anyway.” At that, Waverly chuckled.

“Oh god, they’re going to run out of here soon.” Waverly joked and Nicole grinned.

“Not if they meet someone like you,” Waverly ducked her head slightly at Nicole’s words. “Wanna meet them?” Waverly nodded and it was then that Nicole noticed one hand was still clasped by Waverly. It had felt so normal, so… right that the thought of pulling away hadn’t crossed her mind.

She lowered their hands, but she found herself willing to let go. Instead, she shifted her hands, sliding her fingers in between Waverly’s and leading her to the booth. Waverly, for her part, didn’t seem to mind. She smiled brightly and tucked herself to Nicole’s side, her steps appearing lighter as she bounced along Nicole.

When they reached the table, they found all three drinks drained and a pitcher of beer that Nicole had most definitely not ordered. All three looked up and Nicole immediately looked at her coworkers.

“Dolls, Jeremy, this is Waverly.” She introduced. As Waverly introduced herself, Nicole tried to ignore Chrissy glancing at their joined hands. She almost pulled her hand away, and would have, however Chrissy shot out of her seat and offered both women her spot at the booth.

Waverly was the first to graciously accept Chrissy’s offer, sliding in and pulling Nicole in with her. Before Nicole realized it, she felt the blond retake her seat and found herself sandwiched between the two.

And found her hand still clasped with Waverly’s, on the brunette’s lap.

She tried to ignore the sensation of Waverly’s hand _and_ warm lap, of the way Waverly began absentmindedly playing with her hand, of the soft patterns that ghosted the back of it.

Her head was spinning.

Was it always so warm in this bar?

Nicole reached up and unbuttoned her collar, hoping for some relief. She had been so focused on the fabric of Waverly’s jeans and the softness of Waverly’s… everything, that she hadn’t realized she was being spoken to.

That Waverly was speaking to her.

“I’m sorry, what?” Nicole heard Chrissy snickering next to her but opted to ignore her.

“Oh, right, you’re still tired…” Waverly said softly, mostly to herself, but Nicole still caught it. “You can always spend the night again.” She told Nicole with a slight frown, thought Nicole waved her off with her free hand.

“Nah, I’ll be okay. You were saying?” She quickly moved on, fearing if she did take Waverly on that offer, she would have a repeat of that morning. She couldn’t- she _wouldn’t_ \- let Waverly see her like that again.

“If you say so, I was saying Doc’s coming over sometime this week to help repairs at the homestead and I was wondering if you wanted to come by too. You don’t even have to help, just keep us company.” Waverly looked away again, finding the table booth more fascinating.

“If I don’t have work, then I’d love to, Waves.” Waverly looked back up and beamed at her.

“Really? I-I’ll let you know,” She began to look away before jerking back to Nicole, eyes sparkling with excitement. “No, wait- just let me know you’re free days and I’ll tell Wynonna to plan with Doc.” Nicole laughed and leaned on the table, resting her head against her hand, watching in fascination as Waverly’s face shifted to determination as she began planning in her head.

“You know, if you need help around the house, just let me know, especially if Doc isn’t free.” Nicole said with a grin, and Waverly paused again.

“You’d do that for me?” Waverly asked.

“Of course, plus, I’m really good with my hands.” Nicole responded with a wink, watching as Waverly’s face blushed a deep red. She heard someone choke on their drink but was too sleep deprived to care.

“I’ll- uh, I’ll keep that in mind.” Waverly stammered. Despite her exhaustion, Nicole felt proud of herself for her moment of confidence.

Confidence that seemed to always disappear around Waverly.

_Please do, Waverly Earp._

Nicole shook her head, chastising herself for her thoughts. No, Waverly didn’t think of her that way.

No reason to get ahead of herself or get her hopes up for nothing.

Her eyes fell to the hand still clasped in Waverly’s and found herself questioning everything she thought about Waverly. The brunette most definitely did not feel anything short of friendship towards the redhead, Nicole knew she didn’t.

But she let herself feel some sort of hope that perhaps Waverly felt the same warmness Nicole felt. And as Waverly smiled brightly at her and held her hand, she dared to think perhaps there was something there for Nicole to work with.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole Haught is the new deputy in Purgatory and has the (mis)fortune of issuing her first ticket in the town to none other than Waverly Earp. It seems ever since then; the universe brings them together more and more and Waverly slowly starts to think that maybe that ticket was the best damn thing to happen to her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up a lot longer than I intended, and I thought about adding what I originally intended to happen this chapter, but it ended up so long I decided to split it. I hope what I ended up writing in this chapter is still just as enjoyable for you all.
> 
> At least I know I have big plans for the next chapter, so I hope you enjoy both this and the next chapter and that splitting it up was the right choice.
> 
> That being said, we've taken the train to fluff central this episode so strap in y'all.

Everyone in the Sheriff’s department stood at attention as Nedley walked to the podium that stood in front of the briefing room. The older man stood tall and looked over every officer, his face stony and eyes serious.

The air was thick as every officer gulped, mind wandering a mile a minute. Nicole’s back muscles began hurting as she stood tense, and glanced at Dolls, who stood next to her, looking oddly comfortable in his rigid pose, eyes unblinking.

 _I swear this guy is a reptilian or something._ She felt a pang of jealousy at the new officer who already seemed years ahead of her, hard shell and demeaner trained to never crack. Nicole let out a sigh and stared in front again, forcing herself to think there was no point in comparing herself to others, as easy as it came to her.

“Officers,” He spoke evenly. “I’ve gathered you all here on an important, urgent business,” Nicole subtly clenched her fists behind her back. “The annual football game between us and the fire department.”

The room erupted in loud cheering, so much so that Nicole nearly jumped. Nedley waved a hand in front of him and the older deputies finally simmered down.

“As you know, last years was cancelled by Bunny LoBlaw. Luckily, this year she got that stick out of her ass and funded the game. Also, since then, we’ve got new deputies to show the Fire Department who the real winners are. So, I want everyone to be prepared, in two weeks is the game, and we’ll be working on team building exercises. I want everyone to kick some ass!”

The room erupted in cheers again and Nicole grinned as she clapped along. She looked up at Dolls, who even he held a glint in his eyes and a smirk on his face. Nicole chuckled and leaned over.

“Excited?” Dolls cleared his throat and attempted to slip the façade of a neutral expression on his face.

“I, uh, big fan of sports.” He said awkwardly.

“Me too,” Nicole replied, bumping her shoulder against Dolls. “Though my thing was basketball.” Dolls grinned as everyone piled out of the room, his body relaxing slightly.

“In that case, I need a new work out buddy, what do you say, Haught?” Nicole paused and turned around, crossing her arms. She eyed him, looking for a sign of a sneer, an upturned nose, anything that screamed too testosterone to her.

She felt her skin prickling at the memories of the other cadets at the police academy, making snide remarks, purposely questioning her validity, her worth and ability. Time and time again having to prove herself, push harder than the rest, simply for being.

It wasn’t everyone, thankfully she was able to find solace from judgement with certain people. However, it was enough to put her body on alert over any hint of a question over her authority. Perhaps it was close minded of her, but being away from the city, in a smaller town where everyone in the local bar knew each other by name, caused her knee jerk reactions to reappear. Even the walls of the precinct, an old, faded yellow peeling paint, a far cry from its original color.

Dolls seemed to notice Nicole’s slight demeaner shift, his head tilting as he gazed at her, eyes intense and she felt as though they punctured her, looking straight into her in a way she didn’t like. A way that left her exposed. It seemed like an eternity before he spoke again, hands clasped behind his back.

“I’ve thought about asking the others, but honestly I’m not sure if any of them could keep up with me, and,” Dolls shrugged slightly. “You’d be the first person I’d ask anyway.”

“Oh,” Nicole let out a breath, letting the relief wash over her. And perhaps a hint of embarrassment at assuming the worst. She shook her head to collect herself and smiled at Dolls. “Sure, hit me with all you got.”

“Alright, Haught,” Dolls grinned. “We’ll see what you got.” He walked back to his desk and Nicole shook her head, chuckling to herself. She had already had her own workout regiment, but she had to admit the thought of changing it up brought jitters of excitement to her body.

That, and the football game gave her an extra surge in energy for her patrols, letting the excitement and nervousness sweep her off her feet for a moment. She had heard about Police Department events from her days at the academy, of the competitive nature of it all.

The camaraderie as well, of units coming together as one, away from the cases and patrols, in friendly sportsmanship. Feeling the electricity of the game course through everyone, cheering and egging each other on, supporting and challenging each other, both as coworkers, as equals, but also as a team.

It seemed the same excitement had leaked to every other officer in the room, as the station seemed to be buzzing with life more so than usual. Officers were dashing in and out, talking adamantly with one another when free, even Jeremy had somehow received the news and bounded his way to Nicole and Dolls to talk about the upcoming game.

* * *

Nicole groaned as she dragged her way up the sidewalk to the entrance of Shorty’s. Just getting out of her cruiser had been a pain, her arms exhausted from its weak grip on the steering wheel.

After she had gotten back from patrols Dolls had called her over and asked if she wanted to work out with him. Deciding that the day was still young, and her curiosity thawed at her, she agreed, and they had met up at the local gym.

Where Dolls had worked her to the bone.

She had went on regular runs, and worked out everyday, able to last on her own for quite some time. Despite that, despite the confidence that came to her naturally during her workouts and pushing her body, Dolls seemed to be on a greater level than her, his body and posture never once breaking from its rigid position.

She cursed herself as she remembered her competitive nature come out and pushed herself more so than usual. Dolls seemed to have noticed, a playful grin on his face as she slightly added to the workouts intensity, keeping close just in case the entire time.

The final nail in the head had been at the bench, lifting the metal bar with a nearly impossible amount of pounds attached. It wasn’t much more than her usual amount, but her arms burned, and she could see the bar shaking at the third rep of her first set. Finally, her arms gave out and the bar nearly crashed onto her chest if it were not for Dolls quick reflexes. He placed the bar back and helped Nicole up, giving her a friendly slap on her back.

“Good job, Haught,” He said, grin never leaving his lips. “I knew you could keep up, we’ll do this another time.” He began collecting his things, looking slightly less tired than Nicole by a long shot, but thankfully, just as sweaty.

They had gone they’re separate ways and Nicole made her way to Shorty’s, her body heavy with exhaustion. Just as she reached the heavy doors, they burst open, her mind too exhausted to realize the sudden movement or the body that slammed into her, causing her to stumble backwards.

Her hands immediately latched onto the other person’s arms in an attempt to steady herself, feeling the other person do the same. She closed her eyes and sighed in relief that by some miracle they hadn’t both toppled backwards, though Nicole mused it was mostly due to the other person, knowing if it was up to her muscles they’d be down in seconds.

“I’m so sorry.” The other person spoke, and Nicole leaned back slightly to see Waverly in her arms. “Oh, Nicole.” Waverly seemed to finally notice who she had ran into, smiling brightly, finding herself sinking into Nicole’s arms.

“Hey, Waverly.” Nicole grinned. “What’s the big rush?” Waverly laughed and moved a piece of hair behind her ear.

“Oh, nothing, I just got off work, and-” Waverly paused. “It’s dumb, actually.” Waverly muttered, looking away.

“Oh, c’mon, Waves, I doubt anything involving you could be dumb.” Nicole encouraged, using their current position to run her hand up and down her arm comfortingly.

“Well,” She big her lip and looked away shyly. “Okay, see,” Waverly sighed. “There’s this documentary series I got my hands on, and I was going to marathon it today.” Waverly finished in a low voice, as if afraid it would escape their little bubble.

“Hey, it sounds awesome,” Nicole forced herself to take a step back, shoving her hands in the pockets of her gray joggers. “Well, I should let you go.” Waverly nodded, but made no move towards her car.

“Do you… want to watch it with me?” Waverly asked and Nicole smiled, not giving Shorty’s a second glance as she answered.

“I’d love to.”

* * *

Nicole ended up walking back to her cruiser and followed Waverly, who had decided they would order in food, back to the homestead. Once the car was parked, Nicole hopped out to find Waverly already waiting on her porch.

“Go ahead and make yourself comfortable on the couch, I’ll go get the snacks.” Nicole happily made her way to the couch, groaning as she sunk into the soft fabric. She closed her eyes, listening to the sound of cupboards opening and bags crinkling. When she opened her eyes, she saw Waverly walking to her, juggling multiple bags of chips and a large bowl.

“Oh, jeez, Waves,” Nicole laughed, pushing herself up despite her body’s protests, grabbing at least the drinks. “I could have helped.”

“Don’t be silly, you’re my guest.” Waverly replied with a wave of her hand, putting the giant bowl she had been carrying between them, teetering between both their thighs. Perhaps the bowl was simply an excuse for her, in the depths of her mind, to be close to the redhead as she pushed it further down between their legs and pushed herself closer, wedging it between the both of them. She could feel the heat coming from the body next to her, and she wasn’t sure if her own body heating up was from their proximity or her nerves of the Nicole being so close.

It felt similar to the get together at the party, but somehow worse. She felt her nerves acting up, without anybody else with them, both sitting close on a perfectly large enough sofa, the whole act felt more intimate to her, and was keenly aware of Nicole in her peripheral vision as she looked solely at the bowl. She quickly grabbed one of the bags of chips and popped it open with more force than she intended, a few chips jumping out.

She cursed herself as Nicole laughed, her face feeling warmer from embarrassment. Movement caught her eye and she looked to see Nicole pick up a chip that had fallen on her lap, looking up just in time to see Nicole pop it into her mouth with a grin, an act otherwise normal but Waverly had even found _that_ endearing.

“Oh, I should have asked, are the, uh, are the chips okay?” Waverly asked, wincing slightly at her voice, unnecessarily higher than intended and painful to even her own ears. Nicole didn’t seem to notice, and simply nodded.

“Delicious, actually.” Nicole replied, leaning in just slightly. Waverly looked down as she nodded, smiling shyly and poured the rest into the bowl, taking a long exhale as Nicole leaned back. She heard a couple more crunches from Nicole and realized she must have been searching for the rest that had not fallen on the floor and disposing of them her own way via mouth.

“Alright, Hoover, here’s the bowl,” Waverly laughed, and catching Nicole’s eye, who had paused in her hand’s travel to her mouth. “Besides, Wynonna’s probably spilled more drinks on this couch than I could count, I wouldn’t really trust those chips anymore.” Nicole’s face pulled into a grimace at that, causing Waverly to giggle as she pulled the chip out of her hand. She placed the bowl on Nicole’s lap and quickly cleaned up the rest of the chips from the floor, holding her hand up to force Nicole to sit before the redhead could even _offer_ to help.

She smiled as she heard the soft, defeated “Fine”, making sure to smile sweetly at the redhead before turning and dumping them away. Nicole simply chuckled and shook her head at the shorter woman, watching as she bounded towards the kitchen. Nicole casually lowered her eyes, intent on simply looking away to glance around the room, but she couldn’t help the halt her line of sight took when she lowered them, watching Waverly’s hips move back and forth rhythmically.

Nicole’s eyes jerked forward, then to the other side of the room, anywhere that wasn’t close to the brunette’s hips or ass. _Shit_. Nicole swore as she fought back the blush threatening to rise to her cheeks. When she heard Waverly coming back, the brunette had a blanket as well, and all but jumped down onto the seat next to her. Nicole let out a sigh, thankful that the brunette was no longer angled any way that Nicole could find distracting.

Nicole turned her head slightly, watching as Waverly leaned forward to turn on the TV, tucking her legs underneath herself, before leaning back and bringing the blanket over her. With giddy excitement, she shimmied into the couch, sinking deeper each time as she somehow wrapped the blanket around herself in some sort of cocoon before stilling completely and looking intently at the screen.

Nicole hadn’t realized the corner of her lip had turned upward, eyes dancing with amusement as she watched the entire process. Waverly’s mouth parted just slightly, almost as if she was about to mouth the words of knowledge playing on the screen in front of them, and Nicole could have sworn she saw the light from the TV dance back in the brunette’s hazel eyes, flickering and bringing out the subtle specks of green as they stared at the screen with rapt attention.

The view was mesmerizing to Nicole, her own devout attention on the brunette rather than the show. She marveled at the level of comfort Waverly seemed to be in, the way her expression was relaxed but also attentive, Nicole could almost see Waverly’s mind soaking in all the knowledge from the program. It was…

_Beautiful._

Nicole couldn’t think of any other word, the gears in her own mind seemingly short circuiting at the sight. It wasn’t until Waverly’s eyes flitted in her direction, looking back at the screen before turning entirely to Nicole that the redhead whipped her head toward the screen.

“What?” Waverly asked, voice light and cheerful as she laughed lightly. “Are there chips on my face or something?” The brunette wiped the area around her mouth self-consciously as Nicole shook her head and shoved a handful of chips into her mouth.

“Nope.” Waverly gave her a playful side-eye, but otherwise turned back to the TV, and Nicole moved further down the couch, hoping somehow the cushions could swallow her whole, like the silly commercials she had seen growing up.

“By the way,” Waverly spoke as she looked at Nicole, who simply hummed in response, eating more chips and staring at the screen. It seemed the theme was ancient civilizations, one that Nicole had been too lost gazing at the brunette next to her to have caught the name of. “I noticed you’re driving your cruiser, but you’re not wearing you’re uniform.”

“Oh, after I got off work I worked out with Dolls, and didn’t bother with the uniform, so,” Nicole motioned towards her body and shrugged. “I just put on whatever.”

“Oh, well, you look nice.” Waverly said distractedly, eyes roaming down her torso, stopping at her hips where the hoodie Nicole wore had ridden up to show bare skin. She could see the milky white skin, hip bones protruding just enough to emphasize her tone stomach without looking underweight.

Not that she looked underweight at all, Waverly could see the muscles just barely peeking out from under the fabric, and her mouth felt drier, desperately swallowing in hopes of somehow getting moisture back in her mouth.

 _God, it looks so smooth_. She couldn’t look away, and she couldn’t explain why. She had seen other girls topless before, in nothing but a bra, hell she had seen Chrissy practically naked more than she would have liked, but something about the strip of skin, of Nicole’s stomach, made her feel warm and a tingling sensation move up and down her body.

She wanted to reach out, run a finger up and down those abs, and she imagined the muscles jumping at her touch. She felt her body react at the image, beyond feeling warm, and felt her own muscles jump. She felt her stomach flip on itself and a warmness spread lower, nestling between her legs, a sensation that had confused and alarmed her. She reached for her drink, taking a large gulp, hoping to quench her thirst.

“Please,” Nicole scoffed, completely unaware of Waverly’s dilemma, as she had refused to look away from the program. “I probably look like garbage,” Nicole frowned and pulled the collar of her hoodie out, giving herself a subtle sniff. “Probably smell like it too.” Waverly couldn’t help the way her neck strained itself slightly to take a glance down the hoodie, briefly noting that it seemed Nicole was not wearing a shirt underneath. Nicole released her hoodie with a shrug, and Waverly bit her lip as she kept her eyes trained on the redhead. A surge of courage flowed through her and Waverly leaned forward, the sound of Nicole’s breath hitching reaching her ears as she moved closer to the crook of her neck.

Waverly closed her eyes as she pressed her nose against Nicole’s skin for a moment, basking in the softness and closeness before pulling back in mock disgust. “Yeah, you definitely stink.” She said before laughing and leaning back, acutely aware of how her body felt on fire after her actions, how her body felt off and misaligned and the only remedy was to move closer to Nicole again.

“Oh, yeah?” Nicole grinned and placed the bowl of chips on the table. She leaned back and turned to Waverly. “Hey, Waves, I think I’m a little cold.” Nicole leaned forward, reaching her arms out as if to envelope her in a hug and Waverly’s eyes widened as she leaned back, her own grin on her face.

“Don’t you dare,” Waverly protested, finding her no sincerity behind her words, and wondering if Nicole knew that. Nicole simply shrugged as she continued forward. “Oh, no you don’t.” Waverly slowly moved to get up, not _really_ fighting to get away, allowing Nicole more than enough time to pounce on her, or pull back if the redhead thought she was uncomfortable.

Waverly let out a playful scream as Nicole leaned over and enveloped the shorter brunette in a hug, causing them to fall back to the seats of the couch. Waverly giggled underneath the redhead, lightly pressing her arms against Nicole’s chest, and maybe sneaking her fingers into Nicole’s sweater to bring her body closer as well, as if her body itself wasn’t sure what to do.

“Nicole!” Waverly laughed, reveling in the weight of the of the other woman’s body against her. She heard Nicole chuckling, one arm sandwiched between Waverly and the couch, the other hanging limply from the couch.

“I can’t move, my arms are too tired.” Nicole swayed her one arm limply for emphasis, causing Waverly to laugh. She reached around Nicole’s torso, wrapping her arms around her back and pulling her closer.

“You big oaf.” Waverly joked.

“ _Oaf?_ ” Nicole replied in mock offense.

“Yep,” Waverly chirped back, turning her head to look at the television, rubbing circles on Nicole’s back. Both women were aware of the other’s bodies, Waverly trying to focus on the show, though the words didn’t seem to reach her like they had before. The body on top of her felt warm and secure and Waverly felt hyper aware of every inch of Nicole’s body on top of her.

Unlike the suffocation she felt with Champ, she felt nothing but warmness and security, feeling Nicole draped over her like a blanket, and she began thinking of the woman as some sort of annoyingly attractive teddy bear with dimples. It reminded her of when she was little and laid in bed in the cold darkness of the homestead, accompanied by the sound of Ward’s bottles and glasses increasing clinking, a clear sign of his drunken misaim, hugging her favorite stuffed rabbit close to her chest as a protective barrier.

Nicole melted into the soft circles trailing alone her back and found herself sinking into Waverly’s chest, blanket thrown off slightly, the only barrier between Waverly’s body and hers their clothes. She wanted to pull her closer, feel every curve and inch of her body, pull her tight and never let go. Instead, she forced herself to hold herself up slightly, despite her hands twitching to lay along Waverly’s sides, as if she was afraid the other woman would break under her weight.

“You can relax, you know.” Nicole heard Waverly mumble above her.

“Don’t want to hurt you.” Nicole mumbled back, the thought of pulling back crossed her mind, but Waverly seemed to tighten her grip on Nicole, and she was too weak to fight it. And perhaps a little selfish. Guilt snuck its way to her, knowing there was no way Waverly had even remotely the same feelings or thoughts towards her, but tiredness won over logic as she felt Waverly push her against her body more.

“Don’t be silly, I’ll be fine.” As Waverly kept kneading her fingers into Nicole’s back, they rolled over a particular tight spot and Nicole couldn’t stop the moan that escaped her lips.

Waverly froze slightly and Nicole’s eyes widened, finally sinking into Waverly, face beet red from mortification as she attempted to bury her face in Waverly’s chest.

“You must be sore from the workout.” Waverly spoke softly, receiving only a grunt in response. Waverly laughed lightly and rolled her hand over the same spot, feeling the muscles jump underneath her touch. “You poor thing.” Waverly whispered to herself, working through Nicole’s back with expertise, listening to the other woman’s stifled moans.

Her hands traveled upward, into her hood as best as she could, reaching the base of her neck. Waverly didn’t need to press hard to feel the tight, twitching muscles and winced internally as she messaged her neck, wondering how hard Nicole had pushed herself during her workout to end up so tightly wound. After a particularly tight muscle, another moan escaped Nicole’s lips, and Waverly opened her mouth to make a retort when a booming voice startled them both and the body weight on top of her disappeared.

“What the hell are you doing to my little sister, Haught?!” Waverly blinked as Nicole gagged against her hoodie, hands moving to her collar, gripping it to rip it away. In the next second, she realized Wynonna stood over the couch behind Nicole, a scowl on her face.

“Wynonna, stop!” Waverly cried out, reaching out to pull her sister away from Nicole. It seemed her help wasn’t needed, as a second later Nicole recovered and Waverly watched in horror as the redhead’s elbow shot out, hitting Wynonna right in her stomach.

The older Earp doubled over in pain and Nicole’s eyes widened in realization as soon as she was let go. Nicole looked from Wynonna to Waverly and held up her hands in a surrender.

“I-I’m so sorry-” Nicole began, though was quickly cut off.

“Alright, Ginger Xena,” Wynonna gasped, and Nicole looked at Wynonna apologetically. She opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off when Wynonna surged forward, diving over the back of the couch, knocking them both to the ground, ignoring Waverly’s scream at the sudden action.

Nicole felt her head hit the coffee table and saw stars behind her eyes. She found herself on her back, looking up dazed as Wynonna triumphally sat on her hips, looking down with a smirk on her face.

“Not so Haught now, huh, Haughty?” Nicole simply groaned as she rubbed her head, rolling her eyes.

“Ass.” She mumbled, knowing Wynonna heard when the older Earp simply raised an eyebrow at her. She opened her mouth, no doubt to make another snide remark, but was cut off by Waverly.

“Wynonna, get _off_ her!” Waverly knelt next to Nicole, shoving against Wynonna as she did so. The older Earp rolled her eyes and stood up, pointing at her stomach as she did so.

“Um, excuse me, my _gut_ is screaming right now.” Wynonna scoffed. Nicole gratefully allowed Waverly to help her up, once standing at her full height, Waverly spun around with her hands on her hips.

“You’re the one that started choking her!” Waverly shot back.

“Oh, please, I was _so_ not. She was fine, my ribs aren’t,” Wynonna easily replied, and Waverly rolled her eyes. Before Waverly could say anything else, Wynonna turned to Nicole, blue eyes piercing Nicole’s brown ones. “What I wanna know is why I heard _moaning_ and you on top of my baby sister. I swear if you were trying anything-” Wynonna took a threatening step forward, one that Nicole equally matched.

“Both of you, enough!” Waverly shoved herself between the two, feeling them both shoot daggers over her shoulder. “Wynonna, I was messaging Nicole’s muscles, she wasn’t doing anything to me. Nicole, you shouldn’t have gut-punched my sister, now will you both just apologize to each other?” Waverly chided both, ending with a huff as the two stood silent.

The silence seemed louder than the previous ruckus of Wynonna and Nicole tumbling onto the floor and the subsequent argument that played out after, the only noise coming from the television, relaying detailed information on a different colony now.

“I’m sorry,” Nicole was the first to apologize, holding her hand out. “I shouldn’t have punched your gut.” Wynonna eyed the offered hand before sighing and reaching her own out.

“It was a solid punch, so props, Haught-stuff,” Wynonna grumbled, Waverly cheering softly at their clasped hands. “And, uh, sorry for totally _not_ choking you.” Nicole chuckled and shrugged.

“Thanks, and it’s all good. We’re good?”

“We good.” Wynonna conceded, letting their arms drop. Nicole immediately rubbed the sore spot on the back of her head, wincing at the obvious bump. Waverly noticed and moved Nicole’s hands away, letting out a gasp.

“Wynonna, get ice,” Waverly ordered. Wynonna opened her mouth, but Waverly cut her off. “ _Now_ , Wynonna. It’s the least you could do.” Wynonna rolled her eyes and stalked towards the kitchen.

“I’m fine, Waves.” Nicole said, turning so Waverly’s hand fell from her head, now facing the shorter woman.

“Are you sure? Do you need the hospital? Any pain medication?” Nicole put her hand up in hopes to stop the barrage of questions spewing out of her mouth.

“I’m sure, I just need some ice,” As if on cue, Wynonna returned holding a bag of ice and two bottles of beer in the other hand. Nicole graciously took the tice and before she could move it to her wound, Waverly snatched it and did the action for her. Wynonna simply rolled her eyes again, holding up one of the beers.

“Here, _now_ it’s a truce.” Nicole laughed and grabbed it, clinking it against Wynonna’s before taking a sip. Wynonna moved towards the couch, stopping to look at what was playing on the giant screen, before hopping over the couch, landing on the seats with a bounce.

“Um, excuse me,” Waverly moved from Nicole, taking the bag of ice with her, and walked to Wynonna. “What are you doing?” Wynonna simply shrugged and motioned to Nicole.

“Maybe I want some time with Haughty,” Nicole blinked, causing Wynonna to grin and snort. “Oh, c’mon, Haught, most people would have run for the hills by now,” Wynonna took a chug of her beer as Waverly looked down to the ground, a look of sadness coming over her face. Wynonna looked at her sister and frowned before getting up with a sigh. “I’ll, uh, let you guys watch whatever it is you’re watching, Haught, we’ll go out for drinks one of these days.” Wynonna left before Nicole could get a word in, and redhead sighed before glancing at Waverly, who’s shoulders seemed more slumped than they had before, playing with the bag of ice in her hands.

“Hey,” Nicole reached out to Waverly, placing a hand over hers. “You okay?” Waverly bit her lip and shrugged.

“Yeah, it’s just, Wynonna’s right, most people would have run off by now?”

“Hey, look at me,” Nicole waited until Waverly slowly looked up, just barely meeting Nicole’s eyes. “I’m not going anywhere, plus, your sister doesn’t scare me.” Nicole added the last bit with a wink, causing Waverly to laugh.

“Don’t let Wy know that,” Nicole grinned and led them back to the couch where they settled in, sitting side by side. Waverly curled into Nicole this time, pulling the blanket over both their laps. Nicole smiled as she smoothed her side over her legs, bringing the bowl of chips that had miraculously survived Wynonna’s tackle.

Three hour long episodes later Waverly’s head found itself on Nicole’s shoulder, her cheek pressing into the soft fabric of the hoodie. Nicole reached into the bowl of chips, grasping at air, and looked down.

“Waves.” Nicole laughed, glancing at the head of brown hair.

“Hmm?” Waverly hummed back, eyes intently looking at the screen.

“Think its about time for real food, don’t you?” Waverly glanced at the now empty bowl and chuckled.

“Oh, fudge,” She took the bowl from Nicole and pulled her phone out. “Pizza okay?”

“Sure,” Nicole replied and Waverly grinned, standing up and searching through her contacts.

“Great! I’ll go order right now.” Nicole saw Waverly leave to another room, hearing her yell to Wynonna that she was ordering pizza for everyone. Nicole leaned back on the sofa and pulled out her own phone, mindlessly looking through apps when another beer suddenly appeared over her screen. She blinked, looking up to see Wynonna standing over her.

“Another peace offering?” Nicole asked.

“I mean, if you don’t want it…” She began pulling it back, but Nicole shot her hand out, grabbing it for her own.

“No, no, my head is still sore.” Nicole teased, earning a scoff from the other woman.

“Please, you’re a narc and a coffee table is what takes you down?” Wynonna walked around the couch, sitting on its other end.

“You know the head is actually an incredibly sensitive place, right?” Wynonna waved at that, taking a gulp of her drink as she looked at the screen. Nicole followed suit, and soon they both sat in awkward silence as they stared at the still imagine, drinking their respective beers.

“Hey, uh, thanks for still staying, Waves would kill me if I sent you running to the hills.” Wynonna said into her drink, and Nicole glanced at her, watching as she shuffled awkwardly in her seat.

“I know Waverly told me not to tell you, but,” That caused Wynonna to look at her, brows furrowed as Nicole leaned her body closer to her. “You don’t scare me, Earp, I’ve taken down scarier people than you.” Wynonna narrowed her eyes at her, lips slowly quirking into a grin and leaned closer as well.

“Keep it up, Haught, or you’ll get another bump on that big head of yours.” Nicole scoffed as she leaned back, grinning into her beer as she took another gulp. Wynonna chuckled and did the same, the silence suddenly a little less uncomfortable.

Waverly bounded back over to the couch, climbing over Wynonna in the process. The older Earp let out a huff, grabbing one of the many pillows and hitting Waverly’s shoulder with it. Waverly simply stuck her tongue out at her, nestling back into Nicole’s side.

Nicole nervously looked towards Wynonna as she felt Waverly’s head return to her shoulder, arms wrapped around her own. She saw Wynonna glance at Waverly out of the corner of her eye, watching as her eyes moved up and glanced at Nicole for a split second before moving back to the television screen.

Nicole did the same, hoping Wynonna wasn’t plotting some devious plan that involved no one ever seeing her body again. The three sat in peace while waiting for their food, attentive to the program on the tv, or as much peace as they could get with Wynonna annoying Waverly as much as possible with multiple questions.

She was also sure that Wynonna was subtly trying to get her drunk, as she had finished her beer when she felt another one bump against her head. Nicole scowled in mock annoyance, making a show of rubbing her bump, which Wynonna simply rolled her eyes at, and graciously took it. Once the pizza had arrived, Waverly placed all three separate boxes on the coffee table, Wynonna using that chance to change the DVD.

“Hey!” Waverly complained, and Wynonna simply ignored her, changing the disk to some sort of comedy series.

“We’re not trying to soak boring fun facts while we eat, right, Haught?” Nicole’s eyes immediately widened and held her hands up when Waverly’s eyes snapped to her.

“Oh no, I’m not getting in the middle of this.” Waverly laughed while Wynonna muttered a “coward” under her breath.

“By the way, Haught,” Wynonna spoke up after they all ate a considerable number of slices, stomachs full and lazily watching whatever Wynonna had chosen. “You got that football game coming up, right?” Nicole looked at her questioningly and Wynonna waved off the silent question. “I’ve been arrested enough times to know all the gossip and events.”

“Not recently, though, right?” Waverly asked hastily, sitting up to point an accusatory look at Wynonna.

“ _No_ ,” Wynonna rolled her eyes. “ _Anyway_ , you going to show off some Haught moves out in the field?” Nicole chuckled and shrugged.

“Maybe, I don’t know, I’m just hoping to hold my own weight for the team.” It was true, she had no idea what to expect for her first game, she just hoped she didn’t fail anyone.

“Well, tackle everyone on the ground for me,” Wynonna said, eyes widening and a grin forming on her face. “I’ll keep track, every tackle you get is a shot from me.” Nicole rolled her eyes but held out her hand.

“I doubt I’ll tackle very many people, but deal, Earp.” Wynonna gleefully reached over Waverly and shook Nicole’s hand. Waverly looked down at the joined hands in front of her with a raised eyebrow before shrugging, simply thankful Wynonna seemed to have no problem with Nicole.

“When is the game?” Waverly asked.

“Oh, two weeks. On a Saturday.” Waverly nodded and smiled at Nicole.

“I’ll go and cheer you on!” Waverly answered and Nicole blinked.

“Oh, uh, yeah?” She asked in disbelief.

“Yeah! It sounds fun.” Waverly beamed and Nicole looked down shyly, rubbing the back of her neck.

“That’d be really nice, I can’t wait to see you there.” Waverly jumped up from the couch and walked to the calendar, putting the information down and circling it with a red pen. Nicole grinned as she looked at the date, her stomach fluttering with excitement.

“I can’t wait to cheer you on.” Waverly replied from the calendar and the day of the game suddenly felt too far away. As she left the homestead that day, the thought of Waverly at the side-lines filled her with excitement and despite still being sore, she felt the urge to go back to the gym. Instead she hopped into her cruiser with a giddy grin, deciding to simply go home and ice her muscles and go to bed early.

After all, she had to make sure she was in the best shape for the football game, for Waverly.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the long awaited day of the football match.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the long wait everyone! I've been busy nonstop and currently working two jobs for the holidays, but I've been trying to squeeze in some time for my art and works. I tried to make this chapter on the longer side, and I hope it makes up for the long time.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Also, I don't know anything about American football, so I'm sorry to any readers that cringe at my obvious lack of knowledge.

Waverly stood at the middle of the basement, cold and dark and uninviting, stripped of nothing but shelves lined with merchandise. The only light source hung above her, swaying slightly from the foot traffic from above, shifting its shadows ever so slightly, causing her to squint at the clipboard in her hand.

The dying ink from the cheap pen certainly didn’t help, and only made her more frustrated as she read over the checklist a third time. The confines of the tight space and heavy shadows all came together, and she felt the building coming down on her, the top floor dropping closer and closer, pushing her down inch by inch.

She dropped her clipboard and sucked in a deep breath, focusing on the muffled noise of the bar overhead, of the steps of everyone going up and down, old floorboards creaking underneath their weight. She held her breath for a few moments before exhaling and repeating the process. She opened her eyes and glanced the familiar bottles in front of her.

She brought the clipboard up again, making sure all the stock was accounted for. She knew she had reached beyond the point of necessity, her sharp eye never needing more than a double check, yet it currently took a great deal of effort to read through each word. The habitual task suddenly became daunting, as if the connections in her mind had fried, causing her to stay stuck in a processing loop, nothing quite fully processing.

She vaguely thought about the loading screens of Champ’s video games, watching as the white bar staggered to a halt near the end, not quite reaching the end. She lightly chuckled at the thought, shaking her head, mind still stuck on anything but her current task. She eyed the bottles of liquor lined up along the wall, the beginning of dust forming of multiple bottles. The sounds of patrons trickled down to where she stood and with it, Nicole’s words from so long ago drifted to her mind.

 _What’s_ your _dream, Waverly? What do_ you _want?_

Waverly physically flinched at the memory, words rattling around her head loudly, sounding almost as clear as the day Nicole had asked. Her eyes found the bottles again, the labels that stuck out to Waverly before anything else.

 _The York brothers always drink that, Carol loves that, Nedley asks for that when he’s had a tough day, and that…_ She paused her line of sight, having moved on from the hard liquor to the beer stored safely away. _The beer Nicole had her first time here_.

It was an unremarkable beer, and she supposed she only remembered _because_ it was the most popular beer they sold, but her heart still warmed up at the case, at the memory. She smiled at the image of Nicole in uniform sitting on the other side of the bar, Stetson sitting low on her head, brim hiding her eyes as she took a sip of her beer. Nicole seemed to _glow_ , the soft yellow lights of the overhead lights soaking into her skin. She looked inviting and warm and electrifying.

Nicole slowly raised her eyes, sparkling despite the shadows caused by her hat, a playful smirk on her face.

 _What do you want, Waves?_ Nicole set her glass down, leaning forward on her elbows, her top button undone, revealing sharp collarbones and smooth skin.

 _Waverly_. Waverly bit her lip as she slowly trailed her eyes back up to the redhead’s face, at the plump limps of the almost wolf-ish grin on the taller woman’s face. The shadow of her cheekbones causing a sharp contrast on her face, bringing out her natural beauty, sculpting her face like the ancient Greek sculptures Waverly had only seen in pictures. Nicole was the world, moon, and sun all together, and Waverly felt herself be pulled towards her with a force she couldn’t stop.

 _Waverly_. Nicole slowly moved the Stetson off her head, vibrant red hair shifting with the movement. She kept it in the air between them, and Waverly felt the world get smaller and air thicken as Nicole leaned forward, eyes drifting to Waverly’s own lips.

“Waverly!” Waverly shrieked as she threw the clipboard into the air, dinging off a wooden beam somewhere in the distance, and spun around. Gus watched with wide eyes as Waverly brought her hands to her face in a failed attempt to hide her scream and slammed back into the bottles with a hard clink.

“What on Earth is wrong?” Gus asked, hand raised in the air as she cautiously looked over. “Sweetie, you’re red as Curtis’s tomatoes, are you okay?” Gus finally took a step forward to Waverly’s forehead. “You’re burning up,” Gus paused and gazed thoughtfully at Waverly, who had yet to say anything, or even move. “Waverly.”

“I…” That seemed to snap Waverly out of her daze, and she fervently nodded. “Um, yeah, I just- I’m sorry, I need to step outside for a minute.” Waverly didn’t wait for a response, and she shot out of the basement, two steps at a time. She ignored the looks and stares as she opened the door to the alley and nearly fell out to the pavement.

She sucked in a deep breath and exhaled with her whole body, letting it curl in on itself until her hands were on her knees. The cold air cooled her overheated skin, and she stared down at the cracks of the gravel, forcing her mind to focus on the present moment.

She furrowed her brow and shook her head, wondering where the hell that image of Nicole came from. The basement must be stuffier than usual, and she thought about talking to Gus about getting it deep cleaned professionally.

That _had_ to be the reason, Waverly couldn’t fathom any other to cause hallucinations of…

She shook her head again. No, she wasn’t going to let her mind drift back to that, not daring to think about where it would have led had Gus never interrupted her.

With one final exhale she stood up to her full height, hands running over her face. She turned around and grabbed the door handle, only to feel her body jerk at the pull she gave.

“Ugh, you got to be freaken kidding me.” Waverly muttered, tugging at the locked door multiple times. She sighed and dropped her hands, hanging her head low as she trudged around the building, back to the front doors.

She opened the heavy double doors, greeting passerby’s awkwardly as she did so. As soon as she was back in the warm, dark wood of the bar again, she immediately spotted Gus near the couch, back turned to her, arms clearly folded across her chest.

 _Oh no_. Waverly glanced at the clock and groaned. Not even noon and someone was already passed out drunk on the couch. She walked up to Gus, ready for one of the many procedures of when someone became too drunk to serve.

She paused at the sight of _who_ was on the couch, red hair and perfectly sculpted body unmistakable, especially in the tight shirt under her flannel. Waverly simply stared, body roaming over Nicole’s before stopping at her chest, watching it rise and fall steadily.

“Now, I don’t know why folks think this is a hotel, I don’t recall putting up that kind of sign.” Gus spoke with disapproval and shook her head, taking a step towards the couch.

“I’ll wake her up!” Waverly blurted, shooting in font of Gus and twirling around to face the older woman. She glanced over her shoulder, raising an eyebrow at the still sleeping redhead.

“Waverly,” Waverly looked over at Gus, who looked at her with soft eyes. She opened her mouth before closing it and shaking her head, chuckling softly. “Tell your officer friend I appreciate everything she does, but that doesn’t mean she can sleep on this couch like it’s a bed.” At Waverly’s nod, Gus patted her shoulder and walked back to the bar.

Waverly frowned and watched her go before shaking her head and gently sitting on the edge of the couch. She sighed and glanced back at Nicole, hesitantly reaching out and grabbing a side of the flannel and bringing it over her body. She did the same with the other side before smoothing it over with the palm of her hand, feeling Nicole’s tight stomach underneath.

She glanced at the bar, catching Gus’s eye as the older woman looked over with curiosity. Waverly snatched her hand back, looking away from her aunt. She cleared her throat softly and placed her hand on Nicole’s shoulder, fingers curling around it, gripping the flannel slightly.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” Waverly said softly, shaking her. Nicole mumbled incoherently, shifting in her sleep before stilling. Waverly let out a breathy chuckle and shook her head again. “Wakey, wakey, eggs and… bakey?” Waverly’s face twisted into a face. _Stupid, stupid._ A low, rough chuckle snapped her out of her thoughts.

“I think the expression’s bacon.” Nicole’s voice cracked and was deeper than usual, making Waverly’s nerves buzz with a sensation she didn’t expect. Her eyes were still closed, but she wore a sleepy smile, one sided dimple popping out slightly.

“Hmm… I’m not sure about that. I mean, it’s supposed to rhyme, right?” Nicole laughed and shook her head, bringing a blind hand up to Waverly’s arm, running it up and down. She finally opened her eyes and grinned at Waverly.

“Agree to disagree?” Nicole asked, tilting her head, and giving her a wink. Waverly looked away, smiling to herself as she heard Nicole groaning, the couch shifting beneath her weight. She watched as Nicole rubbed her face before leaning forward on her knees, smiling at the brunette.

“I think I might have fallen asleep on your couch.” Nicole laughed, rubbing the back of her neck as she glanced at it.

“Oh, it’s fine,” Waverly paused before continuing. “Well, I mean, _I_ think it’s fine, but, uh, my aunt doesn’t like it when people sleep on it.”

“Oh,” Nicole glanced behind them at Gus, before snapping back to Waverly, placing a hand on her thigh. “Oh, god, I didn’t get you in trouble, did I?”

“No, no,” Waverly assured her, and Nicole nodded, a slight frown still on her face. Waverly smiled and leaned forward. “But, if you do it again, I might have to arrest you myself.” Nicole’s lips slowly grew into a grin and she leaned forward as well.

“Oh, yeah, on what grounds?” Their faces were so close, Nicole glanced down at Waverly’s lips, acutely aware of her hand on Waverly’s thigh still, of her thumb stroking it softly. Waverly suddenly pulled back, and Nicole felt the disappointment push down on her shoulders.

“Oh, well, I’m no officer, but I’m sure I could find something,” Waverly nervously laughed, face a bright shade of red. She stood up, wiping her palms on her jeans. “Do you want a beer?”

“Oh, uhm, yeah, thank you.” Waverly nodded and stood in font of her for half a second before jerking herself towards the bar, mumbling something Nicole couldn’t catch under her breath. Once the brunette was gone, Nicole dropped her head in her hands and groaned.

 _Way to make her uncomfortable, you idiot_. She leaned back, staring at the ceiling and continuously chastising herself when Waverly returned and placed a cup of beer on the table in front of her.

“Here you go,” Waverly said cheerfully. “On the house.” Nicole smiled at her in thanks and watched as Waverly made her way to one of the booths, where a family sat eating. She watched as Waverly smiled brightly, one that everyone at the table returned. She suddenly laughed, wide and eyes crinkling, watching as what appeared as the mother of the group squeezed her arm gently, smile on her own face.

Nicole smiled into her own beer as she took a sip and paused, recognizing the taste. She chuckled as she sloshed the liquid around slightly, watching the light bounce off it.

The truth was, she wasn’t much of a beer drinker, or a drinker at all for that matter. She wasn’t _opposed_ to it, but she didn’t necessarily crave it all the time. Yet, she was sure she never liked any beer like the one she was currently drinking and found herself wanting to order another one.

Instead, she finished the glass and got up, placing it on the counter, where Gus and Waverly were working side by side. Waverly immediately grinned and leaned forward on her elbows.

“Hey, I’m about to go on lunch, wanna join me?” Nicole raised an eyebrow, smile on her face.

“Sure, where at?” Nicole asked and Waverly laughed.

“Here, silly.” Nicole’s eyes widened, forcing herself to not look at Gus as she pointed downward.

“Here?” Waverly nodded and grabbed a menu, sliding it over to Nicole.

“Yep, look this over, I’ll get off in five minutes,” She nodded before pausing. “Oh, I didn’t even check if it’s okay with you, is it okay with you? Are you busy?”

“No,” Nicole quickly said, lifting the menu to her chest. “No, not busy at all.” She turned around smiling down at the menu as she made her way to a booth, sliding into the worn leather.

It wasn’t long until she heard someone slide in across from her, her eyes still trained on the food options. Looking up, she smiled at Waverly, who simply placed her head on her hands, smiling at Nicole.

“Don’t have a menu for yourself?” Nicole asked, holding out her own menu to Waverly.

“Oh, no, I’ve worked here long enough to have the entire thing memorized, so I’m ready whenever you are.” Nicole chuckled and nodded, signaling Gus over, who took their orders and left a wink at Waverly and a pointed look at Nicole.

“So, I see you’ve been working hard.” Waverly teased, hand reaching out to Nicole’s bicep. Nicole watched with a grin, subtly flexing her arm, muscles bulging out slightly, pulling against the fabric of her sleeve. Waverly pulled her hand back with a tiny squeak and a blush, and Nicole couldn’t help the satisfactory grin.

“Just, uh,” Waverly cleared her throat, drumming her fingers on the table. “One week, huh?”

“One week,” Nicole nodded, and the two sat in silence for a bit, letting the music from the jukebox playing over them. Nicole heard slight humming and she cocked her head to the side as she watched Waverly bop along to the song, her light, angelic voice drifting out to the booth, enveloping Nicole in a warmness that secured around her, never wanting to have it released from her grasp. She watched, fascinated by her sweet melodies that sounded velvety smooth, a natural sweetness to it that didn’t compare to anything else.

Waverly’s sweet voice halted, her face shifting from its faraway look as she was brought back to reality, and looked down sheepishly, bringing her shoulders up slightly as she sunk into her seat.

“Oh, sorry, I just, I like that song,” Nicole smiled, eyes sparkling and small smile leaving her face. Nicole shook her head, looking down as she shrugged off her flannel button up, face already heating up at the thought of her incoming words.

“Good to know you have a voice of an angel, too.” Nicole’s eye caught the shiny, almost mirror like reflection of the napkin dispenser, nearly blinding her somehow. She sneakily brought a finger to its corner, angling it and _barely_ catching the distorted reflection of Waverly across from her. She was able to see the shy smile on the brunette’s face, and Nicole grinned. She felt her heart swell in her chest in happiness and pride, that the words coming out of her brought out another layer of the intricate dimensions that were Waverly Earp.

That the bubbly brunette could smile brightly one second, wide and opened and for all to see, a smile that gravitated everyone towards her, like moths to a beautiful, strong, driven flame. One that Nicole was guilty of, Waverly’s mere presence taking residence in her mind consistently since the day she had given her a ticket. Quickly becoming a light in the night, at the end of her shifts where she was nothing but drained and exhausted, the hard days of an officer pushing down on her shoulders.

And she would come into the dark, rustic bar, making a straight line to the brightest, glowing light in the room. Instantly, her body would straighten and relax, dumping into her seat and smiling brightly at the bartender in front of her, drink ready in hand and the same shy smile shooting her way. A smile she had noticed was not reserved for many.

“Oh, please,” Waverly’s scoff brought her out of her thoughts, Nicole’s brown eyes shifting towards her, lightly pushing the metal cannister back with a finger before shifting to face Waverly entirely, hands on table, giving nothing short of her full attention. “You’re being too nice.”

“Nope, I’m being the perfect amount of nice. Speaking of which, I heard that _someone_ was crowned the nicest person in Purgatory.” Waverly laughed and mirrored Nicole’s position, inching forward on her own elbows.

“It came with a sash.”

“Oh, that I _have_ to see,” They both laughed, though Waverly did out of slight embarrassment. “And know the story behind it.” And so, Waverly proceeded to tell the tale of how she beat out Samantha Baker, and her aunt and uncle had taken her out to celebrate. Nicole listened with rapt attention, noting the way Waverly’s face lit up with the happy memories, her eyes crinkling at the tales of Wynonna’s teenage adventures.

Nicole let Waverly speak freely, enjoying the look into the happy moments of her past, something that seemed the brunette hardly got a chance to talk about. It was only when the food arrived when Waverly realized she had been speaking only about herself, particularly high school and her cheerleading stories.

“Enough about me. What about you, though?” Nicole hummed in thought before shrugging.

“Nothing as exciting as cheerleading, but I played basketball. Was maybe star captain of the team.” Nicole spoke the last half with a smug grin, puffing her chest out slightly. The grin only grew when Waverly’s face lit up in excitement, her body swaying in her seat.

“That’s amazing!” Waverly exclaimed and Nicole laughed. Nicole almost blushed under the praise, decided to resist slightly against Waverly’s urge for more stories about it before finally relenting. She loved the attention, loved the way Waverly seemed to hang on to every word about something as miniscule as high school basketball.

It was the first time anyone showed that level of excitement towards her favorite sport, albeit years after doing the actual sport. She imagined what it would have been like, to have that same enthusiasm shouting at her from the crowds, cheering her. To have somewhere to look after a shot taken, a pass interrupted, or a flashy dunk.

To have someone proud of her.

Fuck, that was all she wanted.

Waverly’s lunch was over far too fast for the liking of either women, not wanting to leave the friendly conversation, or each other’s presence. Nicole graciously paid for both of their meals, much to Waverly’s chagrin. They both seemed to hesitate, slowly dragging themselves out of the booth.

“Well, I got to go back to work.” Waverly sounded disappointed, frowning in her exclamation. Nicole didn’t want to leave either, the booth calling her name and telling her to take Waverly’s hand and extend their lunch at least another hour. Instead, she gave an awkward wave and went to turn on her heel.

“Oh, um,” Nicole paused and turned with a smile and hum, only to feel the wind get knocked out of her as Waverly dived into her chest. She felt Waverly’s arms wrap around her, squeezing her tight, head on her shoulder. The redhead chuckled, wrapping her own arms around Waverly and rubbing her back.

Waverly pulled back first, Nicole’s hands gliding off her body until she couldn’t hold on any longer. Not able to grab onto anything anymore, or to feel the soft sensation of Waverly’s touch, she shoved her hand in her pockets in hopes that the rough fabric could come close enough.

“Thanks for dinner, Waves.” Nicole leaned forward, hands still in pockets, ducking her head slightly. “I can’t wait to see your cheer moves in one week.” And with that, Nicole turned, leaving a blushing Waverly behind.

* * *

One week.

Waverly realized how… little she had begun to look forward to things in her life when the leading days began stretching to an infinity, clocks echoing in every room she occupied. Each giant ‘X’ she wrote on the calendar seemed considerably brighter than the others, despite using the same marker she had been using since she found it in the bottom of one of Wynonna’s drawers.

It wasn’t that every day was a bad day, or that her days were filled with a joyless void. She enjoyed her day to day life, the little things warmed her heart, connecting with the town folk, remarkable and full of life in tiny, extraordinary ways.

And yet, that morning she woke up earlier than usual, and the sun seemed as though it shined especially bright, through the window and directly into her eyes. With a smile, she had jumped out of bed and danced down the stairs, passing Wynonna’s bedroom, ignoring the groaning coming from the lump of blankets.

Waverly sang lightly as she brewed coffee and made a plate of breakfast for both her and Wynonna, knowing the aroma would lure her out of bed eventually. As she set the plate down, she heard her sister dragging her feet towards her, scowl on her face and hair tousled.

“Ugh, it’s too early for your peppiness.” Wynonna grumbled, falling into her chair and stabbing her pancakes. Waverly could barely keep her excitement as she sat across from Wynonna, who was doing anything to get away from the sunlight.

“Today’s the game.” Waverly said cheerily.

“I know,” Wynonna replied, tone flat as she grumbly ate away at her food. “It’s been the only thing you’ve been talking about.” Waverly rolled her eyes.

“You know, you’re really grumpy in the morning, even with food.” Waverly said lightly, and Wynonna chuckled, grabbing her plate of food.

“Hmm, but you still love me,” Wynonna got up and placed a kiss to Waverly’s head before turning back to her room, unceremoniously shoving a _whole_ toast in her mouth.

“You have three hours!” Waverly yelled back, hearing Wynonna grumble in the distance. She simply laughed and stood up, bounding up the stairs to continue to get ready.

* * *

Nicole pulled up to the park the game was held, seeing Nedley already standing at the center, clipboard in hand. She couldn’t help the little chuckle that escaped her lips, seeing Nedley in a worn t-shirt, hoodie, and shorts, an ensemble that reminded her of her old high school gym teacher.

She grabbed her duffel bag and got out of her cruiser, rolling up her sleeves and fixing her hoodie, a small part of her mind filled with the constant awareness that Waverly was going to be watching. Her eyes glanced along the few spectators that had gathered, most clearly spouses or family, and none of them Waverly Earp.

Her shoulders slumped slightly and she almost forgot to stand up straight as Nedley turned to face her. He gave her a nod and showed her his game plan, as well as saying rather colorful words about the fire department that made Nicole raise an eyebrow. Nicole moved to the side, placing her bag down when she saw Dolls come up to the field, dressed in his own workout clothes. She watched as he made his way over to her, grin on his own face and dropped his own bag next to hers.

“Ready after all that training?” Dolls asked and Nicole grinned back.

“Oh, trust me, I’m going to be on top of my game today.” Dolls nodded, a playful glint in his eyes. They chatted as they watched the other players arrive as well as the spectator crowd grow, though each new arrival only served to disappoint Nicole further.

It was silly, Nicole _knew_ it was silly. She was an adult in a serious profession now, about to play in a game between co-workers that only the people involved cared about. All the pre-game jitters of her high school days were long gone, where the ambience of the packed bleachers, animal mascot doing cartwheels up and down the court, and the luminous lights only pumped her adrenaline further.

There were no more cheers, bright lights replaced by cloudy, overcast skies, and the only adrenaline pumping through her now was most likely due to her morning coffee. Nicole looked up to the sky and realized with a start that perhaps she had become slightly more jaded, less hopeful, and maybe the town was more perfect for her than she thought.

A whistle blew and caused Nicole to jump slightly, and she shook her head of her thoughts. The cloudy day must have impacted her mood more than she thought. She glanced at the crowd again, looking at each face, and stopping, heart racing slightly when she spotted Chrissy.

The blond noticed her staring and gave her a bright wave, one she returned with less enthusiasm as her eyes darted around, noting the lack of a certain brunette. With a sigh and drooped shoulders she made her way to the line-up, into position alongside her fellow officers. She heard the countdown, everyone’s eyes glued to the other team, tension building as they slowly inched their body further.

With a booming voice calling out, everyone jumped to life, and the ball landed in the hands of one of the police officers. Nicole shot forward, pushing past one of the firemen, looking up just in time to see the football swirl in the air. It wasn’t long until she heard the whistle blow and looked down the field to see two players helping each other up, ball laying on the ground next to them, far from the touchdown line.

“You got a mean push back there.” Nicole’s eyes moved back to the fireman in front of her, grin on his face. She squinted her eyes at him, unsure of the cocky look on his face, his grin looked almost too big for his face.

“Thanks.” Nicole nodded and started to turn, though an outstretched hand stopped her.

“Ewan. Ewan Allenbach.” Crap, well she wasn’t going to be rude.

“Officer Haught.” Nicole reached out and gave him a firm handshake.

“Oh, c’mon, don’t tell me Nedley put his bias against us lovely firefighters into your head.” Ewan chuckled.

“No, no biases,” Nicole laughed, noting Nedley had been moodier than usual towards the firefighter’s captain. Nicole genuinely respected the firefighters, knowing their job was just as dangerous as the officers. “Well, gotta get back to the game.” Nicole said after hearing the whistle blow. Ewan nodded, giving her a small salute as he jogged to his side.

The same play repeated itself, the police department slowly inching closer to the firefighters end each time. Nicole shoved against the firefighters each time, digging her shoes into the wet ground until the ball was thrown across the field, transferring hands to the quarterback. Unfortunately, no point was given, as the officer was knocked down. Nedley groaned and glared at the fire department’s captain, who looked back with a smug grin.

Everyone huddled around Nedley, who gave each position quickly, and Nicole was too focused on his words to look back out for Waverly. Or maybe she didn’t want to feel the disappointment. It reminded her of the times she had played in the home games, particularly after what should have been a monument moment of being crowned captain, and looking up to see her parents nowhere to be seen, their promises broken every time.

Her stomach twisted at the thought of Waverly breaking her promise. A theme that seemed to be consistent in her life.

Instead, she ran up to the line, and once the ball was thrown back to the hands of the other player, she charged forward, her quick and long legs expertly swiveling past the other opponents, years of footwork on the court working on muscle memory.

She knocked the man down, feeling the satisfaction at his eyes widening in surprise. He threw the football in a sloppy, jerk movement as she tacked him to the ground. The ball didn’t soar very far in the air, and Nicole rocked back on her heels to see Dolls catch it and sprinting to the fire department’s touchdown line.

He got to a considerable distance before a pair of arms sneaked around his lower body, tripping him to the ground. Nicole heard Nedley’s cheer in the background and chuckled as she helped the man she tackled up, each giving the other a solid pat on their arm.

As she lined up at the new start line, she saw Nedley give her a nod of approval, and she looked away to hide the grin on her face. Her second attempt did not go as well, as another person pushed back against her before she could tackle the man again, and they had lost their advantage.

With a huff she returned to the line and glanced at Dolls, who gave her a subtle thumbs up. She laughed and shook her head. They lined up, repeating the play with the same outcome _and_ Ewan taking the ball rather far. She cursed as she watched him high five with his coworkers, mere feet from the touchdown line.

Eventually, and disappointedly, the fire department scored their touchdown and Nedley grumbled in the distance, frantically scribbling on his clipboard. He called them over, going over their positions as Nicole tugged off her hoodie. She felt most of her torso hit the cold air, shivering with relief as it cooled down her overheated body. She threw it over to the side of the field, far away from any possible tripping hazard, and ran back to her new position once she heard Nedley blow his whistle.

She paused at the rear, wiping her hands on her joggers to rid them of any sweat. Fear of literally fumbling the ball coursed through her body, her mind jumping to the worst conclusion. With a deep, calming breath, she knelt down, the words Nedley had told her to yell coming out of her mouth. Her eyes flitted to the crowd briefly just as the last word escaped her lips, body acting on its own accord. As her eyes shifted back to the front, her mind registered a vague, Waverly-shaped person.

She wanted to look back, but the ball was suddenly in her hands and her mind seemed to short circuited as she fumbled.

 _Shit_. Her fingers slipped and twitched, never giving her a firm grip. With one last desperate clutch, she gripped the ball and glanced back for confirmation as she raised her hand, ready to throw it… somewhere. Her mind was in a haze and thoroughly distracted, switching back and forth, the pull of the possibility of seeing Waverly in person and the game stretching her thin. Suddenly, a body slammed into her and she felt the wind get knocked out of her as she fell back, a heavy body falling on top of her.

“What happened, Officer Haught? Lost your touch?” Ewan hovered above her, looking at where Nicole had glanced. “Unless…” He furrowed his brow, lost at thought, before looking back down with a raised eyebrow. “You were looking at something else.”

Nicole roughly pushed him off her, and he pried himself off her a little too gracefully for her liking. She stood up and dusted herself, scowling at the ground, cursing herself for getting distracted.

She watched as he walked back to his side with a grin on his face and a wave to the crowd. She frowned and glanced over, her heart leaping into her chest and her body buzzed with nerves at the sight of Waverly, bundled in a thick padded coat that puffed out from her body and _adorable_ earmuffs. She stood slightly hunched over her thermos, bouncing up and down slightly on her feet.

Waverly caught her eyes and instantly snapped her back up straight, shooting a gloved hand in the air and practically jumping up and down with a large, eye crinkling smile on her face. Nicole smiled back, a low breathy chuckle bubbling out of her as she waved back. She looked at the ground, fighting to push her smile back down to a neutral expression. However, not even the mortification of knowing Waverly had seen her get knocked onto the ground couldn’t wipe the stupid grin off her face, even Dolls seeing Waverly and giving her an uncomfortably knowing look didn’t hamper her mood.

Luckily, Ewan and his teammates had not had a chance to tackle her again, and Nicole thanked whoever was watching over her that she didn’t make a fool out of herself in front of the brunette again. There was a close attempt, but Dolls had intercepted any attempt, using his body as a wall, causing the other person to almost bounce comically off him. Near the end of their offensive turn, Nicole threw the ball to the far end, caught by another woman who typically manned the front desk, and it was just a short sprint to the touchdown line.

Nicole grinned as she crossed the line, easily giving them the point and their team cheered. The red head glanced at the sidelines, realizing Wynonna had also come, donning her classic leather jacket and a flask instead of a thermos in her hand. The older Earp grinned and raised her flask before tipping it back as Waverly cheered loudly. Nicole blinked when she saw the thermos was gone, in its place was two bright blue circular shaped objects.

Wait… Nicole squinted her eyes, leaning in slightly. Were those…

They were _pom-poms_.

Waverly Earp was going to be the death of her.

It was multiple plays later, with Nicole _possibly_ putting in more effort, if the amount of tackles she delivered had any correlation to her body’s soreness. She tried not to look too attention seeking, keeping her focused strictly on the game. Well, as clear of a focus as she could muster, feeling the burn of Waverly’s stare despite the distance.

The pressure she felt was similar back to her high school matches, the feeling, the _drive_ to excel pushing her body further and further. The scrutiny _invigorated_ her, her heart pumping what she was sure was a dangerous amount, the wind attacking her body yet doing nothing to cool her down, sweat still clinging to her skin like another layer of clothing.

Yet she still snuck glances to the brunette, ridiculous pom poms still glued to her hands, raised in front of her chest in the ready. The image of what she would look like in a cheer outfit, crop top holding her chest up tight, perk breasts bouncing and toned muscles flexing. Her legs kicking up in the air, skirt riding up just enough to give her a view of those long legs while allowing the imagination of what the delectable center would look like…

Nicole nearly tripped over her own feet.

 _Fuck, focus, Nicole._ Nicole jerked her head away, boring her eyes to the field in front of her. She did her best to ignore Waverly’s cheering, somehow able to drown out everyone else’s voice, and she may have flexed her muscles slightly after each play.

Okay, may a _lot_ , but sports games were naturally her territory, and the adrenaline boosted her confidence, allowing her to be unapologetically bold from a distance, knowing Waverly was going to see every miniscule muscle movement she did.

The game had quickly became a nail biter near the end, with both teams facing off with one final round at an even score, and the police department on the offensive. Nedley had called the team over one last time, and decided Nicole was to attempt to give them the touchdown point. Nicole swallowed harshly, head held high, squashing all her nerves down.

She took a deep breath as she crouched down in the wet grass, looking down the field. She listened to Dolls shouting, adrenaline peaking just a little more with each phrase. With one last shout, the ball was in Dolls hands and she shot forward.

Her long legs sprinted down the field, scurrying around her opponents and looked up in time to the ball flying at her. Hands wrapped around it and she tucked it into her chest, barreling down the field. A blur of gray and black came at her, aiming for her legs.

She jumped up, soaring over the body, feeling the wind carry her. The feeling was _freeing_ , feeling as though the world slowed down slightly, seconds dragging by a little longer than they had before. She nearly slipped on the landing, foot swiveling in the grass. She dug her foot in, grounding her and allowing it to kick herself forward.

 _Don’t stop, don’t stop._ Air sliced past her ears, attempting to push her back as well. The end line looked so tantalizing close, only growing closer with every stride, tingling her body with pent up nerves. Her heart rate was pumping at its maximum and her eyes stung against the wind and sweat running down her face.

What felt like a truck ran into her, her neck feeling as though it was ready to snap at the sudden jerk. She clutched the ball tight as she was _bulldozed_ into the ground, grunting as she slammed into wet grass and dirt. A heavy, _also_ wet body pushing down on her, angled uncomfortable and she most definitely felt a sharp elbow prodding her.

It was all very wet.

She glanced at the ball, tucked carefully into her arms like a baby. She glanced at the end field, now a little under half the distance and let out a surprised laugh.

The firefighter on top of her left out a grumble as he got off her, holding his hand out to take. Nicole accepted, the grassy, dirty ground now caked all over her arm and hand. With a grin she jumped up to her feet with a slight hop, attempting not to let Waverly’s loud, boisterous cheer go to her head as she passed the ball back to Dolls, who looked downright _ecstatic_.

His own nerves seemed to be on high alert, as his hands seemed to vibrate around the ball, fingers twitching and spinning the object. He returned to his position, unable to keep his feet still as he waited for the rest of the team.

They lined up, and Nicole was close enough to see the faded, hand painted line going across the field. When she shot forward again, she sprinted towards the ball, catching it squarely into her chest without breaking her stride. Unfortunately, she didn’t get far as Ewan slammed into her again, eventually peeling himself off of her with a cocky grin. Still, even a centimeter closer to the line kept her nerves going and was going to take anything she got in stride.

She wasn’t going to let Ewan or any of the fire department take the last point away. They lined up again, and she kept a lookout for the other team, knowing the didn’t have many more chances to make a point before they switched to the defensive. She easily caught the ball and sprinted across the field, nearly getting tackled early on, but a side-step and a hop to the side put her out of reach.

She pushed her legs further, ignoring the burn, ignoring the blood rushing to her ears, ignoring the cheers and yells. She could see the line more clearly now, could almost touch it. She practically flung herself to it, feeling arms wrap around her legs simultaneously.

She stretched her body, feeling it want to split apart at the action. Her face hit the ground, but her grip refused to falter as her arm clattered to the ground. She heard the whistle blowing and dragged her head up at the ball.

At the ball that was over the line.

“Purgatory PD wins!” Nicole grinned as the two got up from the ground. The firefighter barely had time to congratulate her before the rest of the officers converged on her, the firefighter slinking back to his team. Her body was jostled as congratulatory slaps came at her from every angle.

Dolls wrapping his arm around her neck and pulling her tightly didn’t help either. As he laughed and congratulated her, very nearly boasting about her out loud to everyone, she half expected him to dig his knuckled into her head. Slowly the crowd dispersed, and Nicole pried Dolls arm off her, running to the crowd before Dolls could even drop his arm fully.

Nicole’s legs shook, and as much as she desperately wanted to reach Waverly, she conceded with a light jog. Waverly waited patiently, her body shaking and pom-poms vibrating at her chest. Wynonna was saying something to her, but Waverly didn’t seem to be paying attention. Waverly was beaming at her, and it made Nicole feel like she was on fire.

She was suddenly running on clouds and the look of uninhibited excitement and joy on Waverly’s face had Nicole absolutely _preening_. Nicole couldn’t stop her own face-splitting smile as she reached the shorter brunette.

“You came,” Was all Nicole could say, panting and sweating and brain a little fuzzy. In a split second she realized how that sounded to her own ears and her eyes widened. “Here, I mean you came here. And with your…” Her mind blanked on the word, and she held her hands in front of her chest, hands cupped in the air.

She bounced them slightly, watching as Waverly looked on in confusion, Wynonna crossed her arms, and Chrissy nearly fell over with a fit of laughter. Nicole’s hands jerked to a standstill as mortification settled in, her brain refusing to cooperate.

“Pom-poms!” Nicole finally yelled, dropping her _fucking_ , _useless_ , hands. She thought about making an excuse and running back to the fields in her embarrassment, since it seemed she dropped her _brain_ as well.

“I said I was going to cheer you on!” Waverly laughed. “But then _Wynonna_ refused to wake up”

“Hey, you were the one who took forever,” Wynonna looked at Nicole, mimicking the redhead’s prior hand movements, making Nicole’s face flush. “To look for the pom-poms.” Wynonna dropped her hands, giving Nicole a good-nature wink. Nicole stared at the ground, Wynonna’s teasing icing on the cake of her mortification.

“Oh, shut up,” Waverly replied off-handedly. Before Nicole could look up, she felt arms wrap around her neck, pulling her head down as Waverly rocked back on her heels. Nicole nearly toppled over the smaller woman in surprise, feeling herself be rocked side to side slightly. “You did so great! And you guys won!”

Nicole chuckled into the crook of Waverly’s neck, hands finding themselves perched on the shorter woman’s hips. She carefully slid her hand farther back, snaking her arm around Waverly’s waist and holding her closer to her, bringing their bodies flushed together despite their layers of clothing in between.

She smiled warmly and closed her eyes as she felt Waverly sink into her arms. She felt Waverly move a hand behind her head, playing with the ponytail she had pulled it into prior to the game. She was acutely aware of how… intimate their hug had turned, both lost in the moment, in the feeling of each other.

Waverly moved her hand from her ponytail to the back of her head, and pressed lightly, pushing Nicole closer to her, and the redhead found herself savoring the sensation. She found herself enjoying the feeling of warm protectiveness Waverly gave off, her tired and sore body sinking into the brunette just as much as the other woman sunk into her, and she allowed herself that moment to give in to the feeling of being held instead of being the one to hold.

The sound of a throat clearing pulled them out of their little bubble and Waverly pulled away with a haste that Nicole nearly stumbled from, her body and muscles relaxing to the point of feeling as though she was standing on a cloud, a cloud that was suddenly pulled from underneath her. Nicole awkwardly stood up straight, watching as Waverly looked away with a blush and smile on her face, finding her pompoms more exciting to look at.

“Dude!” Wynonna cheered. “Eight! Freaken eight!” Wynonna punched her again, and again, and Nicole had to physically block the barrage of hits.

“What?” Nicole asked, mind still stuck on Waverly. It was always stuck on Waverly Earp these days.

“I counted. You took down eight people, that’s eight shots. Be ready to drink up, Haught-shot.” Wynonna slammed her fist into Nicole’s arm particularly hard, causing the redhead to wince and rub the already sore spot.

“Fine, but not today,” Wynonna sulked slightly at that. “I do have a shift later today.”

“Fine,” Wynonna groaned. “Later this week, then.” Nicole nodded, knowing when it came to alcohol, Wynonna found a way. Nicole shifted her gaze to Waverly, smiling brightly at the younger woman.

“I have to get back, but thank you for coming, I’ll see you tonight?” Waverly gave her an apologetic look.

“I’m off the whole day.” Nicole’s smile faltered and her shoulders dropped slightly. Waverly instantly reached out and grabbed Nicole’s hands. “But maybe when you go out to drink with Nonna, I can join you guys.”

“I’d like that.” Nicole smiled and squeezed Waverly’s hands before running back to the field. She glanced behind her shoulder, seeing Waverly’s bright smile and wave. Nicole waved back as she collected her things and got into her cruiser, the excitement of winning the match still coursing through her body, and looking forward to the possibility of Waverly joining them for drinks.


End file.
